Prescription Painkiller Abuse Jumped 75 Percent From 2002 to 2010, Study Finds

By Join Together Staff

A new study finds prescription painkiller abuse jumped 75 percent between 2002 and 2010. Men and adults ages 26 to 49 were most likely to abuse prescription painkillers.

Bloomberg News reports the study is the first to examine who is likely to abuse prescription painkillers, and how often it occurs. The study found more than 15,000 people overdosed on painkillers and died in 2009—more than double the number in 2002.

“Chronic nonmedical use is increasing and these drugs have very dangerous risks,” study author Christopher Jones of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury Center told Bloomberg News. “As sales of these drugs have gone up so has the unintended adverse events.” These events include overdoses, deaths, emergency room visits and addiction, he said.