Surgeon General Report Says Substance Addiction Is ‘Not A Moral Failing’

“Misuse of alcohol and other drugs also contributes to crime and violence, abuse and neglect of children, lost productivity, and increased costs to the health care system”, the report says. As of September 30 this year, a total of 286 people died of drug overdoses, surpassing 2015’s record of 272 deaths. While its findings have been reported elsewhere, including by other federal agencies, the report seeks to inspire action and sway public opinion in the style of the 1964 surgeon general’s landmark report on smoking.

To address the issue, the report recommends that substance-abuse services should be integrated into general health care rather than niche programs that only end up serving a tiny percentage of those suffering.

For more on alcohol and drug addiction, visit the U.S.

“The nurses had one parting request for me”. “I have not forgotten their words”.

The federal government’s top doctor has released a report detailing substance misuse in the USA and how it can be addressed. This is a report that likewise hopefully will galvanize us to say, ‘Hey, these are conditions that are medical problems.

“I recognize that addiction has been a problem for centuries, but what is different now is that we have the tools to address it”, Murthy said.

Murthy hopes that dispelling some of the stigma around addiction will lead to better treatment.

“For far too long, too many in our country have viewed addiction as a moral failing”, said Murthy. People who became addicted to opioids turned to heroin because it’s cheaper and more readily available than prescription drugs.

Drug overdoses are rising steadily and highly addictive opioid painkillers are used more often than tobacco.

“These efforts have to start now”, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell wrote in a summary of treatment efforts. “We have many people that come in for treatment and it is a disease”, Cynthia O’Keefe of Travco said.

Yet only about 2 million of those people received any kind of treatment. More than 66 million people, or almost a quarter of all adolescents and adults, reported binge drinking during the previous month. Analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that alcohol and drug abuse was the biggest factor for a decline in life expectancy among white Americans.