Story highlights Ford Vox: Those calling for boycott of "Saturday Night Live" after Julia Louis-Dreyfus' fake commercial skit showing "Heroin A.M" user are off base

He says heroin use is an enormous problem in the United States and that SNL used satire to point out that high-functioning people are abusing opioids

Vox: Such comedy is powerful because it's not politically correct

Ford Vox is a physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine and a journalist. He is a medical analyst for NPR station WABE-FM 90.1 in Atlanta. He writes frequently for CNN Opinion. Follow him on Twitter @FordVox. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) We know Julia Louis-Dreyfus for a particular kind of biting comedy, a realistic absurdism that makes us cringe while we watch. In her HBO hit show, "Veep," the portrayal of craven politicians and cynical staffers comes with a torrential undercurrent of truth.

The skit, for a product called "Heroin A.M.," was hilarious. But the subject, a full-blown heroin epidemic that is killing Americans in every demographic group, is as serious as it gets. Louis-Dreyfus didn't play it safe Saturday night -- she went after this problem head on, and for that she deserves thanks. Not a boycott of "Saturday Night Live," which some are demanding.

Heroin addiction has doubled since 2002, and the heroin-associated death rate has increased by 286%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's an exploding problem that has moved from the "street" to the suburbs. Heroin use is up 60% among people who make over $50,000 a year.

Photos: Now going on eight years clean, Anthony Sideri volunteers at the local soup kitchen and speaks to high school students to encourage them not to fall down the path he took. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: Sideri first started using alcohol and marijuana in high school, "thinking I was in total control of my life and my future." Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: After high school, he moved on to narcotic painkillers. When that no longer did the trick, he turned to heroin. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: At 23, Sideri was snorting heroin every day, feeling "like I had it hidden from everybody." Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: On July 22, 2007, Sideri and a fellow addict robbed a bank to fuel their highs. These are the mugshots from his arrest. He spent a year in court-ordered rehab and 22 months in jail. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: After his release, Sideri found happiness again. He married Jenna Buco, "the girl of his dreams," in 2011. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: Sideri has a daughter and is attending school to become a substance abuse counselor. "It is so important for my daughter to see how I turned my life around." Hide Caption 7 of 7

Many of its victims became addicted thanks to legal prescriptions for opioid painkillers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone. These medications, certified by a doctor's name on the bottle, served as a gateway drug.