New data shows that the number of prescription opioid pills shipped in the U.S. continued to fall through the late 2010s even as the nation's overdose crisis deepened.
FILE - A number of 5-mg pills of Oxycodone are displayed on June 17, 2019. Data released Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, shows that the number of prescription pills shipped in the U.S. continued to decline through the end of the 2010s, even as the overdose crisis deepened due to illicit opioids.
“We are still at an epidemic proportion of pills,” Peter Mougey, a lawyer representing governments that are suing drugmakers, distribution companies and pharmacies, said in an online news conference to release the data Tuesday. The data showed how doctors were prescribing more powerful pills, even as the deaths added up. And it showed just how pervasive the drugs were: Each year, drug companies were shipping enough pills for everyone living in some counties — mostly in Appalachia — to have more than a 100-day supply.
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