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posted by martyb on Wednesday May 02 2018, @01:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-use-no-fake-opiods? dept.

Synthetics now killing more people than prescription opioids, report says

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have overtaken prescription opioids as the No. 1 killer in the opioid epidemic, according to a new report.

The report, published Tuesday in the journal JAMA [DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.2844] [DX], calculated the number and percentage of synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States between 2010 and 2016 using death certificates from the National Vital Statistics System. The researchers found that about 46% of the 42,249 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2016 involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, while 40% involved prescription drugs.

That's more than a three-fold increase in the presence of synthetic opioids from 2010, when synthetic drugs were involved in approximately 14% of opioid-overdose deaths.

Related: Heroin, Fentanyl? Meh: Carfentanil is the Latest Killer Opioid
Study Finds Stark Increase in Opioid-Related Admissions, Deaths in Nation's ICUs
U.S. Life Expectancy Continues to Decline Due to Opioid Crisis
Purdue Pharma to Cut Sales Force, Stop Marketing Opioids to Doctors
The More Opioids Doctors Prescribe, the More Money They Make
Two More Studies Link Access to Cannabis to Lower Use of Opioids


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday May 02 2018, @02:16AM (7 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday May 02 2018, @02:16AM (#674411) Journal

    Here's the abstract:

    Drug overdose deaths are at unprecedented levels in the United States.1 Prescription opioids have been the most common drug involved in overdose deaths, but heroin and synthetic opioids (primarily illicit fentanyl) are increasingly implicated in overdoses.2 In addition, synthetic opioids are increasingly found in illicit drug supplies of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and counterfeit pills.3 To date, the involvement of synthetic opioids in overdose deaths involving other drugs is not well characterized, limiting the ability to implement effective clinical and public health strategies. Using 2010-2016 mortality data, we describe recent trends for synthetic opioid involvement in drug overdose deaths.

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  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday May 02 2018, @02:28AM (6 children)

    Right. This is not the first time we've discussed a journalist looking at an abstract and going "uh, duh?" though. Not even the first time this week.

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    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday May 02 2018, @02:44AM (3 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday May 02 2018, @02:44AM (#674417) Journal

      Eh? The abstract basically uses the same "synthetic opioid vs. prescription opioid" language as the CNN article.

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      • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday May 02 2018, @03:00AM (2 children)

        A) I can see how that one sentence could be read that way but it's not the only way it could be read.
        B) Having half a clue what they're reporting on so they could catch obvious errors like that would be rather nice.

        Yall Eds would certainly get your chops busted for making that mistake. I don't see why professional journalists that get paid actual money to do the job should get a pass.

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        • (Score: 4, Informative) by arslan on Wednesday May 02 2018, @05:02AM (1 child)

          by arslan (3462) on Wednesday May 02 2018, @05:02AM (#674455)

          Eh? They get paid to do stories? I thought they get paid to shill whatever political propaganda their outfit is funded by. The stories are just to pass time and make it look like they're a real news outlet.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @03:04PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @03:04PM (#674590)

            yeah.

            saying synthetic is different than prescription sounds more like they are saying propaganda than any specific differences.

            They do the same thing.

            Perhaps they meant to say "drugs not providing revenue to the pharmaceutical industry"

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday May 02 2018, @07:59AM (1 child)

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday May 02 2018, @07:59AM (#674489) Homepage Journal

      You're not an Editor. And that's too bad. Because you're very good at seeing the bad & Fake stories!!!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @04:50PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 02 2018, @04:50PM (#674651)

        TMB everyone, endorsed by a fake Trump. So fitting!