A record number of high school teenagers died of drug overdoses in 2022 in an alarming trend driven primarily by fentanyl poisoning from counterfeit pills, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Boston researchers found that an average of 22 teenagers aged 14 to 18 will die each week in the US from drug overdoses in 2022.
The death rate for drug overdoses among teenagers is more than double what it was in 2018, according to the study, titled “Overdose Crisis Among US Teens.”
A total of 1,125 teenagers died from drug overdoses or poisoning in 2022, making it the third leading cause of death for teenagers nationwide – behind firearm-related injuries and motor vehicle accidents, respectively, the report said.
“Fewer teens than ever before are actively using drugs, yet more teens than ever are dying,” said senior author Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School, told Fox News.
“And that’s because drug use isn’t becoming more common — it’s becoming more dangerous.”
Teen drug overdoses hit record high in 2022. mintra – stock.adobe.com
In 2002, 21% of high school seniors said they had used an illicit drug other than cannabis in the previous year.
By 2022, that share has fallen to 8%.
Meanwhile, at least 75% of teen drug overdose deaths are from fentanyl poisoning, the researchers found.
An average of 22 teenagers aged 14 to 18 will die each week in the US from drug overdoses in 2022. Syda Productions – stock.adobe.com
As other studies have found, such poisoning occurs mainly when teenagers accidentally take counterfeit pills laced with lethal doses of synthetic opioids.
“It’s very clear that the problem started to rise a little bit before COVID and then really accelerated during the COVID outbreak,” Hadland told Fox.
“Teens are isolated and they can’t go to school or engage in normal activities – and we know that the health care system is becoming harder to access.”
At least 75% of teen drug overdose deaths are from fentanyl poisoning, researchers found. fizkes – stock.adobe.com
Now, there is no sign of this trend reversing or slowing down.
The study identified Arizona, Colorado and Washington as hotspot states. There, the teen drug overdose death rate is nearly double the national average or higher between 2020 and 2022.
Hotspot counties include Maricopa County, Arizona and Los Angeles County, California, which have the highest number of overdose deaths (117 and 111, respectively).
In March 2021, 17-year-old Xavier Gerchow was playing basketball with a friend before he died of fentanyl poisoning.
There is no sign of the trend reversing or slowing down. fussergei – stock.adobe.com
When Gerchow felt sick after playing, his friend offered to split a Percocet with him. Gerchow then went to sleep in his house and never woke up.
Gerchow’s friend was rushed to the hospital and survived, but Gerchow did not.
Percocet turned out to be fake — it contained 99% fentanyl and 1% cocaine.
“The friend didn’t leave the pill because he had a tolerance to fentanyl,” Madison Gerchow, Xavier’s sister, told Fox. “But Xavier died in minutes because he had a clean system.”
Experts recommend that parents discuss the dangers of counterfeit pills and keep over-the-counter Naloxone or Narcan – an overdose reversal drug – readily available at home.
Research has shown that about two-thirds of teens who die of overdoses die at home.
Research has shown that about two-thirds of teens who die of overdoses die at home. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com
“Often, health insurance will cover it with little or no co-pay, and I recommend that parents and teens keep it in their home in a central location, just like you would a fire extinguisher,” Hadland suggests.
While doctors recommend that parents emphasize to their teens that they should remain drug-free, she also encourages parents to have frank conversations about risk-reduction strategies for those experimenting with drugs.
“We cannot use scare tactics… [or] scary, because when we’re too dramatic, it turns off teenagers,” Hadland said. “Studies show that when we are too dramatic, teenagers will sometimes do the opposite of what we expect.”
Doctors encourage parents to have frank conversations with their children. Chris Tefme – stock.adobe.com
Madison Gerchow started the X Foundation in honor of her only brother, Xavier.
The foundation aims to eliminate the stigma surrounding fentanyl poisoning by raising awareness and providing education about the epidemic.
“I wish we had educated Xavier or ourselves and friends,” Gerchow said.
“If Narcan had been in our house, this could have been a very different reality.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
