Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Surgeon General Just Issued Its First Advisory in 13 Years, This Time to Combat the Opioid Epidemic

The Surgeon General Just Issued Its First Advisory in 13 Years, This Time to Combat the Opioid Epidemic
Justin, a participant in a class on opioid overdose prevention held by non-profit Positive Health Project, practices with Naloxone on teacher Kieth Allen on August 9, 2017 in New York City. The weekly class offers individuals free training with Naloxone and everyone receives an overdose kit on completion of the hour course. According to the latest data available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 35,000 people across America died of heroin or opioid overdoses in 2015. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Surgeon General urges more Americans to carry naloxone to help combat opioid overdoses.

As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage many Americans, aggressive tactics are being used to fight back. Earlier this month, the Surgeon General issued a statement urging Americans to start carrying the opioid overdose antidote, known as naloxone.

This is the first Surgeon General warning that has been issued in over a decade. The last warning issued referred to drinking during pregnancy.


The drug, which is commonly referred to as Narcan, can very quickly reverse suppressed breathing in an individual suspected of an opioid overdose. Essentially, naloxone puts the drug user into instant withdrawal, as it works quickly to reverse the physical and psychological effects of any opioid.

According to CNN, there has been a precipitous rise in opioid related overdose deaths in the past few years. Since 2010 the number of fatalities has doubled, with 42,249 opioid overdose deaths in 2016.

Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams stated that "knowing how to use naloxone and keeping it within reach can save a life. Research shows that when naloxone and overdose education are available to community members, overdose deaths decrease in those communities."

Naloxone is a powerful tool currently used by police officers, first responders and other emergency medical professionals, and is critical in fighting the deadly opioid epidemic. To have the Surgeon General issue an official warning places opioid abuse and opioid overdose in the mainstream public narrative.

According to CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, naloxone can absolutely save lives.

"You're basically saying, as a doctor, 'I'm giving you this opioid for your pain, and by the way, you might kill yourself, so here's this as well’. The next step in this would be truly defining who is high-risk and should be getting Narcan along with their opioid prescriptions,” he said.

Using these medications to reverse the effects of overdose is just one important tool in combating the addiction crisis.

Some have argued that focusing on widespread naloxone distribution grants permission to active addicts to continue to use and abuse drugs. This is part of the destructive stigma surrounding addiction.

[embed]

[/embed]

Thankfully, a great deal of the social media response to the availability of narcan/naloxone has been positive. Many people are arguing that narcan/naloxone should be widespread and readily available, as a practical method for tackling the crisis.

[embed]

[/embed]

"The surgeon general is addressing a new reality in a practical way by encouraging people to have access to naloxone and to know when and how to administer it. I equate having naloxone at the ready to having a CPR kit at the ready: Both can save lives as emergency care if administered in time.

No one would find it strange if a surgeon general encouraged more people to learn CPR or the Heimlich maneuver. When we speak of opioid addicts, we need to remember that addiction is a disease. We want addicts to get into recovery, and if they die from an overdose, that can't happen. Keeping them alive long enough for them to make headway with addiction treatment is crucial, and naloxone is often a key component to achieving that goal," said lawyer Jeffrey Simon, in a statement to CNN.

That’s the key—overdose medications should not be controversial or optional. In order to promote sobriety and recovery for addicts, we must first save their lives. Narcan/naloxone allows an opportunity to fight this insidious disease head on.

More from News

Elon Musk
Jean Catuffe/GC Images/GettyImages

Elon Musk Dragged After Sharing Bizarre AI-Generated Image Of Himself As A Gladiator

SpaceX and xAI founder Elon Musk was relentlessly mocked for sharing an AI-generated image of him as a gladiator with a caption of him vowing to conquer the "woke mind virus."

The over-dramatic image of the beleaguered billionaire clad in armor and looking off into the distance while standing in front of the Roman Colosseum was originally posted on Musk's X platform (formerly Twitter) by a user named DogeDesigner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump in the spin room following the presidential debate
Fox News

Trump Shares Which 'Polls' He Thinks Show He 'Won' The Debate—And Yeah That Tracks

Following his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump claimed "polls" showed he "won" the debate—though the polls he chose to cite only underscore how wrong he is.

Instead of citing actual polls from reputable organizations, Trump pointed to random polls from users on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform owned by his ally, billionaire Elon Musk.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Walz; Taylor Swift
MSNBC; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Tim Walz Found Out About Taylor Swift Endorsement Live On Air—And His Reaction Was Priceless

Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Tim Walz had a priceless reaction after he found out live on MSNBC's air that pop star Taylor Swift had endorsed the Harris campaign.

Walz was in conversation with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow when he learned about Swift's endorsement. Swift, who said in an Instagram post that she was only recently "made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site," chose to counter misinformation by expressing her support for the Harris-Walz ticket.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kamala Harris; Lee Strasberg
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Newspaper Roasted For Saying Harris Prepped For Debate With Acting Coach Who Died 42 Years Ago

The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph was called out after claiming Vice President Kamala Harris prepped for last night's presidential debate with legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg—except that Strasberg died in 1982.

According to The Washington Post, Harris spent four days immersed in an intensive “debate camp” at Pittsburgh’s Omni William Penn Hotel. Her team recreated a mock debate stage, enlisted an experienced Trump stand-in to deliver harsh attacks and inflammatory remarks, and subjected the Vice President to hours of rehearsed questions.

Keep ReadingShow less
woman speaking animatedly
Jessica Da Rosa on Unsplash

People Share The Best Comebacks To An Insult They've Ever Heard

Back in the late 1980s to early 1990s, a form of insult and comeback battle finally gained notice in mainstream media. It was strongly connected with rap battles and dance battles from hip hop culture which was also going mainstream at that time.

"Yo mama" jokes were all about who could find the cleverest insults in a back and forth until someone ran out of ideas or otherwise surrendered.

Keep ReadingShow less