"Twenty years ago almost no one went home from the hospital with a prescription for opioids. Today if you stub your toe it seems to be the first line of treatment."

Why Is Life Expectancy Going Down In The U.S.?

"Heart disease is once again on the rise, causing four times as many deaths as the rest of the leading causes. Despite advances in cancer treatment cancer deaths are also on the rise. But what’s most disturbing is the increase in accidental deaths related to opioid use and abuse. Twenty years ago almost no one went home from the hospital with a prescription for opioids. Today if you stub your toe it seems to be the first line of treatment. This is leading to addiction, abuse, and eventually heroin use and subsequent overdose deaths. In 2014 alone nearly 30,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses."