May 2, 2012
Addiction expert weighs in on surge in babies born with drug issues
A new study published today in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Assoc.) reveals that the number of babies addicted to drugs – and who must experience withdrawal – tripled in the last decade.
USAToday.com reports that physician-prescribed painkillers like Oxycotin and Vicodin are largely responsible.
“Our country is being flooded by a tidal wave of painkillers being prescribed by well-meaning but essentially clueless physicians who don’t think about where these pills end up down the pipeline,” says Robert Waldman, M.D., an addictionmedicine specialist with 25 years experience and a member of the detox team at famed Cliffside Malibu treatment center in Los Angeles (http://www.cliffsidemalibu.com/) “The tragedy of this study is that these infantaddictions could have been largely prevented if we had a better control on how prescription painkillers are distributed.”
In fact, more than 15 million people in the United States are abusing prescription drugs, which is more than the combined number of people abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin. Accidental deaths associated with prescription drug abuse outnumber overdose deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. (source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)
Dr. Waldman adds, “Prescription pills and pregnancy have an especially insidious relationship. Because they’re doctor-prescribed, painkillers lull the user into thinking that they must be safe. Based on my own experience in emergency room critical care, I think most of the mothers identified in the study are average working women whom you’re more likely find living next door to you than encounter in some dark alley.”
