Opioid intake is a serious problem in the United States and around the world. And so are drugs in general. A good number of people think opioid abuse affects only the lower class; those not considered educated. Well, that is very far away from the truth. Statistics show that at least 2.6 million people die every year in America due to a drug related issue.
And to better buttress the problem, famous American comedian and host of Last Week Tonight John Oliver weighed in on the subject. Oliver kicked off his show with a clip of US President Donald Trump asserting that heroin doesn’t work where there are beautiful lakes and trees. Oliver’s response was simple: “It does. Heroin works basically everywhere because it’s heroin, it’s not a cell phone. Heroin has full coverage.”
The comedian went on to say: “Around 75 percent of heroin users started with prescription opioids, drugs like Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Percocet, which some take recreationally and others take as prescribed by a doctor. But however it starts, it can get out of hand fast.”
While an estimated 30,000 people died in America of an opioid-related overdose in 2015, doctors are said to make about 250 million painkiller prescriptions every year. This seems to be moving the situation from bad to worse and medical experts are beginning to express their worry on the issue.
According to Oliver, the fear of opioid prescriptions in America is “opiophobia.” He sees opiophobia as a situation where doctors hesitate prescribing opiate painkillers. Oliver thinks it is “not to be confused with Oprah-phobia, which is the irrational fear of screaming talk show hosts giving you a free Sedan.”