Opioid Epidemic Worsens And It Takes The Life Of A Significant Number Of White-Americans, Report Says
A recent report confirmed that the opioid epidemic was taking the life of a significant number of Americans from 1999. It has estimated that the overdose of opioid has taken the lives of as many as 183,000 people, mostly white-Americans, from 1999 to 2015. Now, President Donald Trump wanted a control on it and appointed Gov. Chris Christie to fight the crisis.
The study published by economists Angus Deaton and Anne Case last week showed the relation between overdose of opioid and death rate of the whites without any college graduation, in the recent years. It was a case that was not very common before 1990, then how is there a sudden change in the stream that took place especially after 2000?. The answer lies with some of the major drug firms, and their profits over the years by selling potentially addictive painkillers to the customers would tell the complete story. It is reported that one such drug called OxyContin from Purdue Pharma accrued $35 billion revenue from 1995 - the year the product came to market.
The success of the OxyContin has encouraged Purdue to come with similar kind of drugs, and even other pharma firms came with the same type of drugs. Though there were prosecutions by Justice Department in 2007, only three top executives were found guilty and fined for it. But, none of the Sackler family members, the owning family of the pharma firm, was found guilty or prosecuted. There were questions raised then, why such a drug with false marketing was allowed by FDA for more than ten years, but it was not answered.
Gov. Chris Christie of R-N.J would chair a special inquiry and action commission on the abuse. The panel would come under the Office of American Innovation - a new White House Office. Christie said the panel would look for options to fight for anti-addiction and will assist Center for Disease Control.
