The previous couple of years have seen a big rise in drug overdose deaths attributable to counterfeit prescription capsules, new analysis from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has discovered. The share of overdose deaths linked to faux medication has greater than doubled between 2019 to 2021, in line with the examine. Many of those deaths concerned capsules laced with illicit fentanyl that have been mislabeled and bought as different opioid painkillers.
Drug overdose deaths within the U.S. have continued to climb yr after yr, with greater than 105,000 estimated final yr. On the identical time, current proof from the Drug Enforcement Administration has urged that counterfeit medication are more and more together with fentanyl and different probably deadly substances. To higher perceive these parallel tendencies, CDC scientists determined to research information from the company’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), which collects data on recorded overdose deaths from throughout the nation.
Between 2019 to 2021, there have been about 100,000 overdose deaths documented by SUDORS. Solely a small proportion of those deaths appeared to contain counterfeit capsules, nevertheless it considerably elevated over time. From July to September 2019, as an illustration, the proportion of overdose deaths that had proof of counterfeit capsule use was 2%. However by October–December 2021, it had risen to 4.7%. And in Western jurisdictions, the proportion of such deaths reached as excessive as 14.7%. All informed, about 4.4% of overdose deaths recorded in 2021 had proof of counterfeit capsule use.
The findings, revealed this month within the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, seem to replicate adjustments within the illicit drug market. Suppliers now appear to be generally passing off capsules made with fentanyl as their authorized, much less potent prescription opioid counterparts. Notably, about 93% of drug overdose deaths that had proof of counterfeit drug use concerned fentanyl, both taken alone or together with different medication (41% solely concerned fentanyl). Extra than half of those deaths concerned capsules bought as containing oxycodone. One other frequent goal for these faux medication are benzodiazepines, that are used to deal with nervousness and insomnia however will be combined with different medication like alcohol to extend their euphoric results.
The authors say that extra must be carried out to teach folks concerning the risks of those counterfeit medication. They be aware that these deaths have been extra frequent amongst youthful folks, Hispanic or Latino folks, and other people with a historical past of prescription drug misuse. So prevention methods may greatest be tailor-made to those teams. Different methods like permitting folks to check their medication earlier than they take them may save lives as nicely.
“Overdose deaths could be lowered with efficient prevention messaging by federal, state, and native public well being entities that 1) highlights the risks of capsules obtained illicitly or with out a prescription, 2) emphasizes the significance of taking solely capsules that have been prescribed, and three) encourages drug product testing,” they wrote.
