1/8 young people in the United States abuse painkillers

1/8 young people in the United States abuse painkillers (Alberta Times) According to a new survey released on the 7th, 1 in 8 older teenagers in the United States does not have a prescription...

1/8 young people in the United States abuse painkillers (Alberta Times) According to a new survey released on the 7th, one in eight older teenagers in the United States uses powerful painkillers without a prescription, and many of them begin abusing them at the age of 16 or 17, earlier than previously estimated. The findings are based on two domestic surveys that asked teenagers about their recent or current use of prescription painkillers, including the highly addictive drugs OxyContin and codeine. The study was published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. One of the new studies was led by Sean Esteban McCabe of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He and his research team surveyed 7,400 seniors from 135 public and private high schools from 2007 to 2009 and found that 13% used prescription painkillers for non-medical purposes, such as to get pleasure or to relieve pain without medical supervision. Researchers say that medical and recreational use of these opioids has gradually increased in the United States over the past two decades, and deaths from painkiller overdoses have also increased. This new survey shows that programs to educate about the dangers of painkiller abuse should start in high schools. "Adolescents are using controlled substances for non-medical purposes, almost surpassing all drugs except marijuana, and we must be alert to this trend," said Forduna, a pediatrician at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York who was not involved in the study. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 14,800 Americans died from painkiller overdoses in 2008, three times the number 20 years ago.