Wider use of antidote could lower overdose deaths by nearly 50%
Distributing naloxone and training people to use it can cut the death rates from overdose nearly in half, according to a new study
Time Magazine (US)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Around 15,000 people die each year by overdosing on opioid pain relievers such as Oxycontin, a rate that has more than tripled since 1990. The government has tried numerous strategies to reduce the death toll, but those policies have not had a significant effect on death rates from overdoses. Community-based naloxone distribution and training programs have existed in the U.S. since 1996, and have provided the drug to over 50,000 people, leading to 10,000 successful overdose reversals.
tags:
