Opiods Kill More Than Car Wrecks

99% of the opiods used in the world are used in America.

Vicodin.  Percocet.  Hydrcodone.  Oxycodone.

Opiods.  Highly addictive.  And Tennessee is one of the worst states for opiod use in the country. 

More statistics:  4.56% of Tennesseans are either addicted to opiods or abuse opiods.  Since 2012, opiods have been a bigger problem than alcohol in Tennessee.  In 2010 (the last year these statistics were available), there were prescriptions written in Tennessee so that every citizen over 12 would have 51 hydocodone pills.

From the latest statistics available, Tennessee is second only to West Virginia in number of prescriptions per person (for all prescription medicines).

But providers are a small part of the problem.  From available statistics, only 17% of the opiods in use in Tennessee come from a physician prescribing medicine for their patients.  Over 50% of opiod users get their pills from a friend or a relative.

The rest from come from a variety of sources including illegal sales from drug dealers.  We have all heard of the pill mills and our own community has not been immune to that abuse of the system.

I know of a lot of physicians that simply refuse to prescribe opiods.  That can be a problem for the medical community, as opiods can be a very useful part of medical care, particularly after surgery.

Other statistics:  People addicted to opioids are "more likely to be married, employed, and have greater than 12 years of education."

We can't ignore the bad news.  In 2011, 1062 Tenneesseans died from opiod overdose.  In 2014, that figure rose to 1263.  That's more people than died from car wrecks.

But we also can't ignore that medicines are an important part of health care.  It always gets my blood boiling when people or pseudo-health care practitioners declare that all medicine is bad.  That just isn't so. 

I can't tell you how many patients that I've had through the years that tell me "I don't take pills." 

High blood pressure?  I have it.  The first line of medical advice for treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) is to exercise more and eat better.  Been there.  Done that.  It isn't enough.  I still have to take my medicine.

And let me add a few more statistics.  #1, vaccines work.  Only 2% of U.S. deaths were caused by pneumonia and the flu in 2013.

There have been at least an 80% reduction in deaths from HIV since 1996 due to effective antiretrovirals.

What's this got to do with sports?  A significant portion of those with an opiod addiction started on that path while dealing with sports injuries.  I couldn't find a specific figure on that but I know enough specific cases to know that it is a pretty big issue. 

You see, that's part of the problem.  Those addicted to opiods are often our friends and neighbors.  

Their addiction often started with legitimate injuries or medical issues. 

In any case, it is a huge problem in Tennessee and we all need to focus a lot of attention on it.  What can you do?  Understand that it is at the crisis level.  Recognize that it can happen to anybody.  Support those in the throes of addiction.  If it's a family member, learn what you can do.

And if it's you, get help.