Ch. 5: Alcohol versus Opioid Deaths

Alcohol versus Opioid Deaths

There is one more important point to make as we conclude this topic of opioid problems. While opioid misuse is a critically important issue in the United States, the topic should not be allowed to totally eclipse attention to other substance use problems. For example, alcohol continues to be the cause of illness, injury, and death at a remarkably high rate. As the next article notes, “more than 33,000 Americans died due to alcohol-induced causes in 2015” (Lopez, 2016). The number of opioid-related deaths has been rising fast over the past 15 years, but has yet to surpass the rate of alcohol-related deaths. Here is the weblink information for the story (and a link is provided in your Carmen coursesite, as well):

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/9/13898956/alcohol-deaths-2015