Opioid Use And Misuse
As per the WHO, worldwide, “around 0.5 million deaths are attributable to drug use. More than 70% of these deaths are related to opioids, with more than 30% of those deaths caused by overdose”. Over the past few decades a significant increase in opioid abuse has been registered in countries such as the US, UK, Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia.
As per the CDC, in the United States, “although the number of drug overdose deaths decreased by 4% from 2017 to 2018, however, the number of drug overdose deaths was still four times higher in 2018 than in 1999. Nearly 70% of the total 67,367 deaths in 2018 involved an opioid”.
Unemployment, poverty, family history of substance abuse and age of individuals are some of the major risk factors for opioid misuse and addiction. However, by monitoring opioid prescription, by educating and training doctors and patients, and also by keeping the opioids safe from the reach of adults and teens, the opioid abuse can be significantly reduced.
To tackle the Opioid epidemic, Worldwide some of the key pharma companies such as Purdue Pharma, Orexo US, Indivior, Adapt Pharma, Aphios Corporation, Camurus, GW Pharmaceuticals, MediciNova, and others are developing therapies for the treatment of opioid overdose, dependency, and addiction.
For more details on Opioid Crisis, visit: https://www.delveinsight.com/blog/opioid-epidemic/