Abuse of Prescription Painkillers

Eric: This is Eric from Austin and I was wondering what are the dangers of abusing prescription painkillers?

Timothy Fong: Well, Eric, prescription painkillers, predominantly, well, I think what you are asking are about opiates. Right now the number one abuse of illicit drug among high school seniors. It's taken over from marijuana. The dangers of prescription painkillers include death from overdoses, intoxication, it's illegal, all sorts of problems. Patients can become addicted to prescription painkillers, just like they can become addicted to heroin.

So people's lives can be ruined, there can be catastrophic consequences from abusing prescription pills. So it can be a very dangerous form of addiction. Fortunately, we have a lot of good treatments available that can recognize the signs and symptoms of painkiller addition and get people to get health. The earlier they get into help, the better it's going to be.


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