“In 1999, opioid overdose deaths totaled 8,050 in the U.S., of which nearly 26 percent were women. In 17 years, the share of women in opioid overdose deaths has risen to 33 percent, while the total number of deaths has increased to 42,249. In short, not only have overall opioid deaths gone up by 425 percent, deaths of women have increased by more than 568 percent compared to 380 percent for men. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription painkiller overdoses are an “under-recognized and growing problem for women”, and the gap between women and men is closing quickly. Why are women increasingly becoming the face of the opioid crisis, and why is this so troubling?”
Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2018/03/22/women-economic-opportunity-and-opioid-addiction/#29e678fa27c7
Source: Forbes.com – March 22, 2018
See related article on women and opioid addiction available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lipiroy/2018/03/19/how-women-experience-addiction-differently-than-men/#3c0130a65aad
