The number of overdoses among teenagers aged 10 to 18 more than doubled in the United States between 2019 and 2021, according to a study published on Thursday, December 15 by the American health authorities, which focuses in particular on the risks of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl.
According to this work from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the median monthly rate of overdoses in teens increased by 109% between 2019 and 2021. And overdoses with illegally manufactured fentanyl have increased by 182%.
Also read Between serious crime and drug trafficking, Nantes spirals into violence
SEE ALSO – United States: A sharp rise in relapses and overdoses amid the Covid-19 crisis
“Stronger Drugs”
Illicit drug use among adolescents declined overall during this period, suggesting that this increase in deaths was likely caused by “stronger drugs” rather than more frequent use, the study notes.
Fentanyl, a potent and addictive synthetic opiate, is easy and inexpensive to make in the laboratory. This drug has gradually flooded the American market. According to the study, about a quarter of teenage overdoses were linked to counterfeit pills, often taking on the guise of oxycodone (a pain reliever) or alprazolam (an anxiolytic sometimes known by the brand name Xanax). This percentage is likely to be underestimated as the pills found at the overdose site are not always tested.
Also read Warning in France about fentanyl, a deadly opioid
“The proliferation of counterfeit pills that look like prescription drugs but actually contain illegally manufactured fentanyl, and the ease with which these pills can be purchased on social media, have increased the risk of fatal overdoses among adolescents,” health officials warned. “It’s not clear if the teens were trying to take drugs they thought were real or if they knew they were fake,” they added.
Between July 2019 and December 2021, a total of 1,808 teenage overdoses were reported in 31 American states and the nation’s capital, the data from which could be analyzed. The mean death rate per month between July and December 2019 was 32.5. During the same period in 2021, it rose to 68 per month. A 109% increase. “Urgent efforts are needed” to prevent these deaths, the CDC, the nation’s top public health agency, has urged.
Also readA drone lands in Fresnes prison with drugs and cellphones
Recommendations listed include: Strengthening prevention campaigns that raise awareness of the dangers of counterfeit pills, but also make adolescents more aware of the existence of tests to detect fentanyl or the antidote naloxone, which can block the effects of opiates and can be administered through a close relative in case of an overdose.