• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Addiction Treatment Forum

Addiction Treatment Forum

Addiction Treatment Forum reports on substance use news of interest to opioid treatment programs and patients in medication-assisted treatment.

  • Newsletter
  • Addiction Resources
  • Rx Methadone & Safety
  • Patient Brochures
  • Events
  • Related Websites

Signs America’s Prescription Opioid Epidemic Might Finally Be Waning

October 7, 2020 by ATForum

Here’s some heartening news on the opioid painkillers front: Abuse of the prescription medicines in the United States fell by more than one-quarter between 2007 and 2018.

“Prior research has shown slight reductions in abuse rates, but our analysis shows we’re tracking statistically significant year-to-year declines in abuse, indicating that the decrease is not an anomaly and truly represents a trend in falling prescription drug abuse levels,” said study author Mario Moric, a biostatistician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

He and his colleagues analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey of about 70,000 Americans aged 12 and older who are asked about their use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

For the study, prescription opioid abuse was defined as use without the consent of a physician.

The percentage of survey respondents who said they’d abused prescription opioids in the previous year fell from 4.9% in 2007 to 3.7% in 2018, a 26% decrease.

There were significant declines in prescription opioid abuse from 2012 to 2018, with the exception of 2015, when higher numbers were reported due to a survey redesign introduced that year, the researchers said.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-10-03/signs-americas-opioid-epidemic-might-finally-be-waning

Filed Under: 10-20, News Updates

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

AATOD
April 10-14, 2021
Las Vegas, NV
https://www.eventscribe.com/2021/AATOD/

The Americam Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) 51th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference
Thursday, April 22, 2021 to Saturday, April 24, 2021
Virtual
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/meetings-events/2021/04/americam-society-addiction-medicine-asam-51th-annual-medical-scientific-conference

APA 2021 Annual Meeting
Saturday, May 1, 2021 to Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Los Angeles, California
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/meetings-events/2021/05/apa-2021-annual-meeting

View More Upcoming Events…

ATForum.com

  • Newsletter
  • Addiction Resources
  • Rx Methadone & Safety
  • Patient Education Brochures
  • Events
  • Related Websites

Addiction Resources

  • Addiction and Recovery
  • Addiction Treatment Forum
  • Books and Booklets of Interest
  • Drug Screening and Testing
  • Evidence-Based Addiction Medicine
  • Federal Government
  • Health Care Reform
  • Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment
  • Mental Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Online Continuing Education Free Training Modules

Footer

Addiction Treatment Forum is produced by an independent medical communications agency. Commercial advertising is not accepted.
Published by Clinco Communications, Inc.
About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Follow Us

This educational resource is supported by Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

Sign up for News!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Clinco Communications, Inc., 1808 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL, 60004, http://www.atforum.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

© 2021 Addiction Treatment Forum · All Rights Reserved