Access to opioids
Because pain it's used to treat pain.
Why do doctors prescribe opioids?
A pharmaceutical company that made billions from OxyContin.
What is Purdue Pharma?
The brain’s reward system.
What do opioids affect in the brain?
Over 100,000 overdose deaths per year in the US.
How many people die of overdose every year in the US?
Because patients could ask their doctors for specific drugs.
Why did advertising increase opioid prescriptions?
By claiming that the risk of addiction was very low.
How did pharmaceutical companies mislead doctors/patients?
It's when someone needs higher doses to feel the same effect.
What is tolerance?
A synthetic opioid stronger than heroin.
What is fentanyl?
Stronger painkillers were prescribed for common pain.
Why were stronger painkillers prescribed?
Money, profit, marketing, and influence over doctors.
What was important for some companies?
Severe pain, anxiety, and depression.
What are withdrawal symptoms?
Working-class and rural communities.
Who is the most affected by the crisis?
Unlike in Europe, prescription drug advertising is legal.
Why is the opioid crisis an American problem?
They were sued only after the crisis had already spread.
When were pharmaceutical companies held responsible?
Because addiction is a medical condition, not just a choice.
Why is it difficult to stop using opioids?
One of the worst public health crises in modern US history.
How is the opioid epidemic described today?
How bad is the opioid crisis?