Some states are confirming what the CDC said months ago.
From “Scarface” to “Miami Vice,” Florida’s drug problem has been portrayed as the story of a single narcotic: cocaine. But for Floridians, prescription drugs are increasingly a far more lethal habit.
An analysis of autopsies in 2007 released this week by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined.
Law enforcement officials said that the shift toward prescription-drug abuse, which began here about eight years ago, showed no sign of letting up and that the state must do more to control it.
Libby had pointed to a CDC report a few months ago, noting that the legal drugs were also legally prescribed. Now I realize that the NYTimes article is addressing prescription drug abuses — including robbing drug shipments, but the deaths associated with prescription drug abuses still does not come close to the number of people that die due to reactions to a properly prescribed drug.
According to a recent study, an estimated 2 million people were hospitalized in one year alone for reactions to properly prescribed medications and 100,000 of these people died, making unexpected adverse reactions to drugs a leading cause of death in the United States.
Something to think about…
Drugs with benzodiazepine, mainly depressants like Valium and Xanax, led to 743 deaths. Alcohol was the most commonly occurring drug, appearing in the bodies of 4,179 of the dead and judged the cause of death of 466 — fewer than cocaine (843) but more than methamphetamine (25) and marijuana (0).
This is a great post! These are astounding and scary statistics! There is a great Bill Maher video on YouTube – his “Pharma Rant” and some great related videos. The pharmaceutical industry is making us sicker! There are great alternatives (such as a good diet and supplements) so we can take back our health.