Pharmaceutical Marketing Increased the Deaths From Opioid Overdoses in Past 5 Years

The last few years have not been easy for the health authorities of the United States. Since some media began to reveal the disturbing figures of addiction to some opiates, the alarms went off. Being one of the most powerful analgesics to treat pain, these medications have been added to the list of the main addictions. A figure summarizes the problem: more than 42 thousand people died in 2016 due to excessive consumption in past 5 years of time. The reasons why the intake of these substances skyrocketed are multiple. In the difficult equation that should be analyzed to understand that epidemic, many factors come into play. One of them has just been evaluated in an article published in the JAMA Network Open: the gifts that doctors often offer some pharmaceutical houses.