In a rare move, current Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, announced a national advisory on Thursday, April 6th in an attempt to combat the growing opioid crisis. This has been the first national advisory in over a decade, with the last advisory issued in 2005.
Issuing a national advisory must mean that the opioid epidemic is a pretty big deal, right?
Courtesy of Popkey
It should be noted that currently, drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, and it has been estimated that more than 2 million US citizens have an issue with opioids.
According to CNN, there were more than 63,600 overdose related deaths in the country in 2016. Approximately 66.4% of those deaths were due to opioid use. When you do the math, that is about 115 deaths due to opioid overdose daily.
This increased number of overdose deaths has been potentially attributed to the use of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic toxin. We have seen a significant increase in drugs laced with fentanyl in recent years.
The Surgeon General advises that more Americans carry Naloxone, or Narcan, as a precaution. Narcan is a prescribed drug that treats overdoses in emergency situations. Police officers and Emergency Medical Technicians currently administer the drug, and it has been suggested that the general public have access to the drug in order to resuscitate those who may have overdosed.
So go and do some research about the drug and have some Naloxone handy.
Courtesy of Giphy