How Opioid Sales Quadrupled Between 1999 and 2010, with 91 Americans Dying Daily from Opioid Overdoses
In the span of just over a decade, from 1999 to 2010, the United States witnessed a staggering quadrupling of opioid sales. This dramatic surge in availability set the stage for one of the most devastating public health crises in recent American history. By 2010, the consequences of this flood of opioids into the market had become tragically clear: 91 Americans were dying every day from opioid overdoses.
The roots of this crisis can be traced back to the late 1990s when pharmaceutical companies began aggressively marketing opioid pain relievers.
These companies assured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to these prescription opioid pain relievers, leading to a significant increase in their prescription rates. Doctors, under pressure to treat pain more effectively and influenced by what we now know was misleading information, began prescribing these powerful drugs at unprecedented rates.