25% of Arizona teenagers abuse prescription opioids

According to a survey by the health-care provider, Dignity Health, about 255 teenagers in the US state of Arizona have taken highly addictive opioids in a way not directed by their physicians.

Digital Health surveyed 313 teenagers and 201 parents and found that 56% thought opioid abuse was a serious problem, the same percentage who thought that binge alcohol drinking was a severe problem. The teenagers surveyed thought that bullying was a worse problem, with 64% of the respondents holding that view. One quarter of the teenage respondents admitted to misusing prescription opioids.

Dignity Health conducted the survey to better understand the potential of teenage opioid abuse, said Dr Javier Cárdenas, a sports neurologist with Barrow Neurological Institute, which is owned by Dignity Health. Cárdenas said that since teenagers are often prescribed opioids when recovering from operations or injuries, it is important they understand how to use the powerful pain-killing drugs properly.

“The answer is not to stop them [opioids] altogether,” said Cárdenas. “There is a place for them. We want to make sure we are not putting people in a position to develop a dependency.”

Arizona has called opioid abuse a public-health emergency, saying that it was the cause of death, on average, for more than two Arizona residents every day in 2016. The Arizona Department of Health Services has suggested a wide-ranging plan to stem the opioid epidemic. It includes limiting initial opioid prescriptions to a five-day supply, targeting medical facilities dispensing large quantities of opioids regardless of need, and mandating that doctors complete a three-hour course on opioid-related topics.