Concern Over Growing Numbers of Opioid Painkiller Addicts

Concerns have been raised after a largescale study suggested that many people in the UK who use opioid painkillers are at risk of becoming addicted. The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Bristol, suggests that almost one in ten people who start a long-term course of pain medication containing opioids can become dependent on the drugs, while one in three exhibit addictive behaviour. Misuse of prescription drugs in the United States has been declared a public health emergency, with more than half a million Americans believed to have died from overdosing on the opioid fentanyl since the crisis began in the late 1990s....