United States: A recent survey has found that the drug epidemic has surged to unprecedented levels in the United States. The newly released poll by KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) sheds light on the extensive toll inflicted by substance use on families across the nation.
More than a quarter of adults surveyed stated that they or a member of their family has been addicted to prescription painkillers or other illegal opioids, and nearly 1 in 10 adults has had a family member die of a drug overdose. According to reports, nearly 110,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2022.
Alcohol use disorder has also been on the rise in the US, and it became significantly more deadly during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of deaths caused by alcohol use jumped 26 percent between 2019 and 2020, making nearly the same climb in one year as over the decade before and killing more than 49,000 people in 2020.
More than half of adults in survey noted that someone in their family has ever been addicted to alcohol, and about 1 in 8 adults said that they may have been addicted to alcohol themselves.
According to the KFF survey, about a third of adults are worried that someone in their family will overdose on opioids, and nearly 2 in 5 are worried that they will unintentionally consume fentanyl.
About two-thirds of adults surveyed say that they or a family member have been addicted to alcohol or drugs, experienced homelessness due to addiction, or experienced a drug overdose leading to an emergency room visit, hospitalisation, or death. Many remarked that addiction has had “major” impacts on their mental health, on relationships within their family, and on the family’s financial situation.
The concerns around opioid addiction are particularly prevalent among rural Americans, who were also more likely to say they’ve already experienced the effects.
The KFF findings support earlier research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Centre for Injury Prevention, which found that only about a third of adults with opioid use disorder received any type of treatment for substance use, and only about 1 in 5 received medication to treat opioid use disorder.
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