Big news broke that U.S. life expectancy is in decline because of opioids. Did you know that South Carolina ranks No. 10 in the country in terms of most opioid sales per capita by state?
While the epidemic is now widely known, it is important to know what steps are being taken in our state to avoid more senseless deaths.
The team at ConsumerProtect.com issued a report on The States With The Most Opioid Sales using the most recent and complete data available.
The report analyzed national government data from the Drug Enforcement Agency:
- · From 2000 to 2011, opioid sales tripled from 10.6 kg to 33.9 kg per 100,000 people.
- · By 2011, sales began to decline as the epidemic became publicized and crackdowns on “prescription mills” began.
- · Today, sales nationally are down 28% from the peak of 2011, but the figures are still alarmingly high.
MOST RECENT DEA DATA ON OPIOID SALES IN SOUTH CAROLINA (THREE CHARTS BELOW)
- · No. 10 state in terms of most opioid sales at 32.0 kg per 100,000 people. Above the national average of 24.4 kg. (See chart 1)
- · No. 32 state in growth of opioid sales (+127%) since 2000. (See chart 2)
- · No. 16 state in reduction of opioid sales (-26%) since 2010 When Epidemic Became Well Publicized. (See chart 3)
To view the complete report from ConsumerProtect.com, please click The States With The Most Opioid Sales and please find graphics below for your use. Final numbers from 2018 will be released next year.
