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Friday, February 09, 2007Unintentional fatal drug overdoses in the United States nearly doubled from 1999 to 2004, overtaking falls to become the nation's second-leading cause of accidental death, behind automobile crashes, the government reported. The number of accidental drug overdose deaths rose from 11,155 in 1999 to 19,838 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report was based on death certificates, which do not clearly detail which drugs played the greatest role. But CDC researchers said they believe sedatives and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin were the chief cause of the increase. .....About 50 percent of the deaths in 2004 were attributed to narcotics and hallucinogens, a category that includes heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. Earlier research suggests that deaths from illegal drugs appear to be holding steady. Between 1999 and 2004 it became fashionable to treat pain as a fifth vital sign. That means we give the same weight to a very subjective measure as we give to the objective measures of blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate. The result is more liberal use of narcotics - a class of drugs that has a low safety margin and a high potential for abuse. It shouldn't come as a surprise that there are more people dying from them. Can you guess who was behind the drive for more liberal use of narcotics? posted by Sydney on 2/09/2007 08:19:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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