Grammy winner Chaka Khan was the latest Hollywood celebrity to confess about her prescription drug addiction. After Prince’s death, she realized the value of life and decided to take an advanced step of going through a recovery process along with her sister, Yvonne Stevens.
Khan was abusing the same painkiller that killed the singer/songwriter. She will miss some concert gigs over the summer, but according to her, her health is the most important thing right now.
The “Through The Fire” singer is just one of the 52 million Americans who battled prescription drug addiction once in their lifetime. These medications reportedly killed more people than accidents yearly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported prescription drug abuse as a danger to modern medicines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claimed that addiction to painkillers is now a worldwide concern.
Americans are the biggest prescription drug abusers. Based from statistics, people from the U.S. contributed for the 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone (Vicodin) prescription, 80 percent of the oxycodone (Percocet and Oxycontin) and 65 percent of hydromorphone (Dilaudid) consumption globally.
There is also a growing trend of death cases caused by prescription drug addiction. The figure grew twice in the last 10 years.
Overdose of prescription painkillers has increased four times since 1999. On an average, 50 Americans die daily due to drug overdoses. Yearly, there are 475,000 emergency room visits and more than 16,000 deaths caused by prescription painkillers.
In 2013, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that more than 6.5 million people at the age of 11 and above have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. The number is quite shocking as it is more than the combination of hallucinogens, cocaine and heroin users.
From 2005 to 2008, prescription drugs are the foremost cause of accidental death. Other medicines such as antibiotics led to the development of super bugs. Antidepressants abuse has increased to 400 percent in those years.
Amidst the government’s action to stop prescription drug addiction and overdose, the problem is still present and is continually rising. Some are misinformed that prescription drugs are safe since they are prescribed by physicians.
Just like the other illicit drugs, painkillers exhibit danger when taken wrongly by the user. These medicines can cause terrible side effects. It can attack and interfere the user’s brain and even damage different parts of the body.
If you know someone who is battling prescription drug addiction, encourage the person to seek treatment as soon as possible. Rehabilitation is very important to treat the person right away and prevent further complications.
Free Guide To Healthy Living 