Opioid epidemic has the US in its grip

Misuse cases

OxyContin is a prescription opioid pain reliever. First synthesized in 1916, the drug wasn't available in the US until 1939. It is a time-released formula of oxycodone and provides up to 12 hours' relief to patients experiencing chronic pain from surgery, cancer, injury or severe arthritis.

Oxycodone creates a euphoric high and this can lead users with a prescription to obtain more of the drug than they need, and others to obtain it illegally. It is used in other medications, including Percocet, a mixture of oxycodone and acetaminophen. The latter drug, available without a prescription, is an analgesic used to treat headaches or fever and as an alternative to aspirin, according to medical websites.

The CDC said the use of opioid painkillers in the US rose steadily from 2006, peaking in 2012 at more than 255 million prescriptions-a rate of 81.3 per 100 people. The overall rate of prescribing oxycodone fell from 2012 to 2017, the most recent year in which comprehensive data was collected, dropping to 191 million prescriptions, or 58.7 per 100 people. Still, the federal agency estimated the cost of prescription opioid misuse at $78.5 billion a year, including the cost of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment and law enforcement.

In the US, the use of oxycodone varies by region. Prescription painkiller sales per person are about three times higher in Florida, which has the highest usage rate nationwide and a large population of retirees, compared with Illinois, which has the lowest rate of use.

More men than women die from overdoses of prescription painkillers, and middle-aged adults have the highest rate, although deaths occur among teenagers and young adults who illegally obtain the drug and use it recreationally without a prescription.

The number of people abusing opioids is lower in rural areas, but the death rate is higher than in cities. This disparity appears to be related to the proximity of emergency care. Whites, Native Americans or Alaska Natives are more likely to overdose than other groups, the CDC said.

In 2017, the areas with the highest death rates due to drug overdoses included West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Washington, the capital, the CDC reported.

The high obtained from opioids is sometimes compared with heroin, an illegal and highly addictive drug made from the resin of poppies. Heroin was first manufactured in 1898 and marketed as a treatment for tuberculosis and as a cure for morphine addiction.

Proper use of OxyContin does not necessarily lead to addiction. Those who abuse it frequently develop a tolerance and increase the dosage or mix it with other drugs to achieve the same effect. This increases the risk of overdosing and death, health officials warn.