American adults use prescription painkillers at a higher rate than they use tobacco products, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

The survey, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found that 37.8 percent of participating U.S. adults reported past-year use of prescription painkillers in 2015. The report indicated 31.1 percent of participating U.S. adults reported past-year use of tobacco products that same year.

“[The survey] reflects the growing realization that addiction is a major public health problem,” Danny Winder, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research and professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, told The Tennessean.

Nearly 23 percent of respondents who reported past-year prescription painkiller use in 2015 were teens and adolescents aged 12 to 17. This age range had the lowest rate of all age groups in the survey. The highest rate was observed among participants 26 or older, who accounted for more than 38 percent of reported past-year prescription painkiller use in 2015.

The study found that women were more likely than men to use prescription painkillers.

Among people aged 12 or older, 44.8 percent of non-Hispanic people of two or more races reported past-year use of prescription pain relievers in 2015. This group had the highest rate of painkiller use among all ethnicities in the report. Asian participants aged 12 or older reported the lowest rate of past-year prescription opioid use.

Past-year prescription painkiller use in 2015 was higher among noncollege graduates than those with a college degree.

Past-year use of tobacco products decreased from 2014 to 2015. Most respondents who reported past-year tobacco use smoked cigarettes, according to the report.

Drug Overdose Deaths by State

Multiple states experienced large increases in drug overdose death rates from 2013 to 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio saw the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in 2014.

North Dakota experienced the greatest change in drug overdose deaths from 2013 to 2014 with an increase of 125 percent. Alabama, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire also saw a significant increase in drug overdose deaths from 2013 to 2014.

Opioids were the primary driver of overdose deaths during this time, according to the CDC. This class of drugs, which includes prescription painkillers and heroin, was involved in 28,647 deaths in 2014. Since 1999, the number of opioid-related overdoses has quadrupled.

Prescribing Statistics

An estimated one out of five patients with noncancer pain or pain-related diagnoses is prescribed opioids in office settings. However, most people who abuse these drugs get them for free from a friend or relative.

Nonmedical users of prescription opioids also obtain these drugs by stealing or purchasing from a friend or relative. People at highest risk of overdose are about four times more likely to purchase the drugs from a dealer or stranger than the average user, per the CDC.

Some states have more painkiller prescriptions per person than others. States along the Appalachian Mountains and parts of the Midwest — including Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Indiana — have the highest number of painkiller prescriptions per 100 people.

States with the lowest number of painkiller prescriptions per 100 people include California, Colorado, Wyoming, Illinois and New Jersey, according to the CDC.

In Tennessee, there are more opioid prescriptions than residents. Health care professionals in Tennessee wrote more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions in 2015, per IMS Health data. According to the United States Census Bureau, more than 6.6 million people lived in Tennessee that year.

Dr. David Edwards, a pain specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, suggested opioid pervasiveness can be reduced by creating tools to educate prescribers about opioid alternatives.

“Every prescriber should be educated or re-educated on what the alternatives are in addition to safe prescribing guidelines and having the controlled substance monitoring database link to other states,” Edwards told The Tennessean.

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Author Matt Gonzales , Content Writer , DrugRehab.com [email protected] @bymattjgonzales Matt Gonzales is a writer and researcher for DrugRehab.com. He graduated with a degree in journalism from East Carolina University and began his professional writing career in 2011. Matt covers the latest drug trends and shares inspirational stories of people who have overcome addiction. Certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in health literacy, Matt leverages his experience in addiction research to provide hope to those struggling with substance use disorders.

View Sources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, March 16). Prescribing Data. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing.html

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, May 2). State Data. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html

Fletcher, H. (2016, September 19). There are more opioid prescriptions than people in Tennessee. Retrieved from http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2016/09/19/there-more-opioid-prescriptions-than-people-tennessee/90358404/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015.htm#tab1-33a

United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). QuickFacts: Tennessee. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/47

Wadhwani, A. (2016, November 14). Opioid use overtakes tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2016/11/14/opioid-use-overtakes-tobacco/93797236/

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