Prescription Painkiller Overdose – Press Room

(Posted 07/07/2011)

In the United States, drug poisonings are the second leading cause of injury death after motor-vehicle crashes. CDC has released a study that examined drug overdose deaths in Florida from 2003 to 2009. In this seven-year period, the death rate involving prescription drugs increased by 84.2 percent. The greatest increase was observed in the oxycodone death rate (264.6 percent), followed by alprazolam (233.8 percent) and methadone (79.2 percent). Heroin rates dropped 62.2 percent, while cocaine rates rose until 2007 and then declined in 2008 and 2009. By 2009, the number of deaths involving prescription drugs in Florida was four times the number involving illicit drugs. States need to strengthen interventions aimed at reducing such overdoses and implement surveillance systems that are able to track patterns of drug use and the impact of prevention measures in a timely way.

Learn More

• MMWR: Drug Overdose Deaths—Florida, 2003-2009
• Unintentional Poisoning

(Posted 06/18/2010)

A new MMWR report examines emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of prescription drugs prone to abuse. Scientists from CDC's Injury Center and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) worked together to analyze data from SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Key findings include:

• There was a 111% increase in emergency department visits involving nonmedical use of opioid painkillers in the United States between 2004 and 2008.
• In 2008, the number of ED visits involving nonmedical use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs roughly equaled the number involving illicit drugs.
• Most visits for nonmedical use of drugs involved opioid painkillers (especially oxycodone, hydrocodone, or methadone) or benzodiazepines, a class of sedative drugs.

View the complete report, which includes:

• Emergency department visit trends
• Drugs most commonly involved
• Age groups most severely affected

Learn More about this Public Health Threat

• Press Release
• Issue Brief – Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States
• Poisoning in the United States
  Overview of poisoning in the U.S, including occurrence, costs and risk factors.
• Poison Prevention Tips
  Suggestions to keep you, your family and your friends safe from poisonings.
• NCHS Data Brief: Increase in Fatal Poisonings Involving Opioid Analgesics in the United States, 1999-2006
  Summary of trends in fatal opioid analgesic-related poisonings from the years 1999-2006.
• The DAWN Report: Trends in Emergency Department Visits Involving Nonmedical Use of Narcotic Pain RelieverS (SAMHSA)
• CDC Statement Regarding the Misuse of Prescription Drugs
• CDC Blog: Stop Overdose Deaths Involving Prescription Drugs: A Multi-faceted Approach

Listen to Podcasts

• Unintentional Poisoning Deaths
  Summary of a study on unintentional poisoning deaths, which indicated that poisoning death rates in the United States increased by 62.5% from 1999–2004. (6:12 mins)
• Protecting Yourself and Your Family Against Poisonings
  Poisoning prevention tips for audiences of all ages. (2:59 mins)

(Posted 06/03/2010)

Unintentional drug poisoning is a serious public health concern. More than 26,000 deaths from unintentional drug poisoning occurred in the United States in 2006. Opioid pain medications (such as oxycodone and methadone) were involved in more than half of these deaths. Overall, the unintentional drug poisoning death rate has been rising in recent years and more than doubled between 1999 and 2006.

Teens and Unintentional Poisonings

• CDC’s recently released 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) found that 1 in 5 high school students in the United States say they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription at some point in their life.
• In 2008, people 12-20 years old accounted for an estimated 141,417 (14.5%) of the 971,914 emergency department visits for nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Learn More

• Data: 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• Media Statement: Teens and Unintentional Poisonings
• Issue Brief: Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States
• MMWR: Release of Issue Brief—Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States
• Feature: Stay Safe from Poisoning
• Facts: Poisoning in the United States
• Tips: Prevent Poisonings
• Podcast: Recent Poisoning Deaths
• Podcast: Protect Yourself and Your Family

(Posted 03/18/2010)

Unintentional drug poisoning is a serious public health concern. More than 26,000 deaths from unintentional drug poisoning occurred in the United States in 2006. Opioid pain medications (such as oxycodone and methadone) were involved in more than half of these deaths. Overall, the unintentional drug poisoning death rate has been rising in recent years and more than doubled between 1999 and 2006.

Learn More about this Public Health Threat

• Stay Safe During Poison Prevention Week
• CDC’s Issue Brief: Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States
• MMWR: Release of Issue Brief—Unintentional Drug Poisoning in the United States
• Podcast: Recent Poisoning Deaths
• Podcast: Protect Yourself and Your Family