Drugs? The Leading Cause of Accidental Deaths
When we think about accidental deaths we typically think of auto accidents. Well those thoughts now should be revised. The leading cause of accidental death can be found right inside your medicine cabinet.
According to an analysis done by the Los Angeles Times drug related accidental deaths have officially outnumbered those cause by car accidents since 1970, when the government began collecting data on the behavior.
Until now, car accidents posed the greatest accidental danger. But as preliminary data from 2009 trickle in, the numbers have already surpassed car fatalities in 2009 for Americans, despite an increase in drivers and total time driving.
But why the flip flog of numbers. For one law enforcement and public safety efforts in having effective road safety programs have cut car deaths significantly, this explains the drop. On the other hand, there's been a noticeable increase in fatalities associated with drug overdosing over the past decade, which speaks to wider availability and use.
Halting prescription drug abuse will take work, and programs have started to encourage people to return unused pills and provide better training to doctors working on the frontlines with patients.
For accidental deaths -- certainly. Overall -- hardly. Heart disease, along with other health problems, remains the country's No. 1 killer with roughly 616,000 deaths each year, according to government estimates.
According to an analysis done by the Los Angeles Times drug related accidental deaths have officially outnumbered those cause by car accidents since 1970, when the government began collecting data on the behavior.
Until now, car accidents posed the greatest accidental danger. But as preliminary data from 2009 trickle in, the numbers have already surpassed car fatalities in 2009 for Americans, despite an increase in drivers and total time driving.
The newspaper reported "OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma" as primary aggressors that led to the bulk of accidental deaths, even surpassing fatalities associated with drugs like heroin that typically take blame for dangerous drug use. In the year studied, deaths rose the most among teens and young adults. But adults of all ages seemed to show an increase, too.
There is speculation that the wider availability of medications, including prescription pain killers and drugs to curb anxiety, as well as pushy pharmaceutical companies for advertising their products into the hands of more and more people.
But why the flip flog of numbers. For one law enforcement and public safety efforts in having effective road safety programs have cut car deaths significantly, this explains the drop. On the other hand, there's been a noticeable increase in fatalities associated with drug overdosing over the past decade, which speaks to wider availability and use.
For accidental deaths -- certainly. Overall -- hardly. Heart disease, along with other health problems, remains the country's No. 1 killer with roughly 616,000 deaths each year, according to government estimates.
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