The move marks the first time a U.S. surgeon general issued a public health advisory since 2005, when the surgeon general warned against consuming any alcohol while pregnant, according to The New York Times.
“Each day we lose 115 Americans to an opioid overdose — that’s one person every 12.5 minutes,” Dr. Adams said. “It is time to make sure more people have access to this lifesaving medication, because 77 percent of opioid overdose deaths occur outside of a medical setting and more than half occur at home.”
The public advisory specifically identifies several groups of individuals as being at elevated risk for opioid overdose: those who misuse prescription opioids, heroin and illicit fentanyl users, and those recently released from jail or an addiction treatment program.
To read the full public health advisory, click here.
More articles on opioids:
Cost of treating opioid addiction hit $2.6B in 2016 among those with coverage from large employers: 5 findings
Misuse of nonopioid pain drug on the rise: 3 things to know
3 ways hospital can protect against opioid-related legal ramifications
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