Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Americans Died Of Drug Overdoses In The Last Year
Reuters: US Drug Overdose Deaths Top 109,000 In The Past Year
More than 109,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending January 2023, a slight increase from the previous year, according to provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Wednesday. The figure is up 0.7% from 108,825 overdoses recorded in the 12-month period ending January 2022, according to U.S. data. (Srinivasan and Mandowara, 6/14)
National Institutes Of Health: Men Died Of Overdose At 2-3 Times Greater A Rate Than Women In The U.S. In 2020-2021
Men were significantly more vulnerable than women to overdose deaths involving opioid and stimulant drugs in 2020-2021, according to a new study(link is external) analyzing death records data from across the United States. (6/14)
Also —
ABC News: California Authorities Seize Enough Fentanyl In San Francisco To Kill City's Entire Population Nearly 3 Times Over
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced late Wednesday that the state's highway patrol has seized enough fentanyl in San Francisco in the past six weeks to kill the city's entire population nearly three times over. (Winsor, 6/15)
The New York Times: San Francisco Mayor London Breed Discusses City Struggles
"My perspective growing up in San Francisco is a lot different than the perspective of the people who have problems with my approach," said Mayor London Breed. "I have relationships with a lot of the people who are experiencing challenges every day and suffering with addiction. Addiction is a complicated thing. It requires tough love. It requires force to a certain extent, not tolerance." (Fuller, 6/14)
Los Angeles Times: Counterfeit Pills Now Found In Pharmacies Across Mexico
Some of the pills looked just like antibiotics. Others were unlabeled white tablets. Several mimicked well-known American pills, and a few came in sealed bottles. They were all purchased in Mexico, at legitimate pharmacies from Tulum, at the country’s southeast tip, to Tijuana, at the northwest border with California. And at least half of them were fakes. (Sheets and Blakinger, 6/14)
In other news about addiction —
Healthline: Can Ozempic And Wegovy Really Help Curb Addiction Too?
Ozempic, a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, has been making headlines in recent times for its weight loss benefits. Now, a growing number of users report that Ozempic and Wegovy — a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists that contain the active compound semaglutide — have also reduced their addictive tendencies. (Stokes, 6/14)
