阿片类药物适合社会吗？

The United States is in an opioid epidemic. In 2017 in the United States, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids, including prescription opioids, was six times higher than it was in 1999. Every day, an average of 130 people in America来自与阿片类药物相关的过量的死亡, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC描述了阿片类疫情中的三个波。第一波开始于20世纪90年代，随着阿片类药物的处方增加。第二波始于2010年，与海洛因有关的过量死亡迅速增加。2013年，有第三波波浪，涉及与芬太尼等合成阿片类药物相关的死亡的增加。

Because of the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, many people have a negative perception of these drugs. At the same time, opioids are still prescribed and do have useful applications in medicine.

最近，先进的恢复系统进行了一项调查，以了解有关人们的理解和对阿片类药物的认识。在400名受访者中，最大的多数年龄在25至34岁。其他年龄括号中还有受访者，所有受访者都来自美国。大约60％的调查受访者是女性，40％是男性。在调查受访者中，绝大多数（95.25％）表示他们听说过阿片类药物和阿片类药物。

One of the most interesting components of the study was that of the respondents, 51% said they perceived opioids negatively. Only 12.25% had a positive perception of opioids. The numbers were similar when respondents were asked about opiates instead of opioids.

阿片类药物和痛苦

大约74％的人响应ARS调查表示他们认为这些药物在医学和娱乐中使用。只有17.75％的受访者表示阿片类药物仅在医学上使用。

阿片类药物如何规定？

Prescription opioids are used as a treatment for both chronic and acute pain. According to the CDC, when used appropriately, they can be an important component of treatment. Opioids are used for the treatment of severe cancer pain, and in situations where someone may be tolerant to other pain medications.

Sometimes opioids are used for the治疗慢性疼痛还。CDC报告称1在4patients who receive long-term opioid treatment in primary care settings struggle with an opioid use disorder. CDC doesn’t recommend opioids as the first-line treatment for chronic pain unless there aren’t other options, and the benefits of opioids outweigh the possible risks. In 2017, the CDC’s data shows more than17%美国人至少填写了一个阿片类药物。每100名美国人都有几乎有58个阿片类药物处方，每处方的平均天数继续增加。

处方限制

There have been calls for limits on prescribing opioids in the United States. With the CDC’s prescribing guidelines, there are other recommendations aside from avoiding opioids as the first-line treatment. The CDC guidelines recommend the use of non-medication-based therapy, particularly for chronic pain, or non-opioid pharmacologic therapy.

CDC继续建议，如果使用阿片类药物，则尽可能与非阿片类药物或非药物治疗组合。用于疼痛的非药物治疗可包括运动疗法，减肥或行为治疗等认知行为治疗。

虽然有人说具有这些类型的准则和限制阿片类药物的使用可以抑制美国的流行病，但其他人担心它会保持people with legitimate painfrom getting adequate阿片类药物成瘾治疗。

了解阿片类药的风险

Regardless of whether someone believes there should be further limits on opioid prescribing or not, most can agree that having an understanding of the risks of opioids is essential when these medications are prescribed. Some of the possible risks of opioids, even when they’re prescribed, include:

• Overdose:有严肃的过量的风险, even with prescription opioids. Opioids slow the central nervous system. When someone takes a dose that’s too high or combines an opioid with another substance, such as Xanax or alcohol, they are at risk of overdosing because their breathing slows too much.
• Addiction:阿片类药物成瘾发生时发生opioids trigger the brain’s system。Opioids can cause people to feel high, and the brain’s reward system can then be triggered, leading to an addiction.
• 依赖性：Dependence can occur with or without addiction. When someone exposes their body and brain to opioids repeatedly, they may become physiologically dependent on them. If someone has an opioid dependence and they suddenly stop using them, it can lead to阿片类药物戒断症状。

益处是否超过了风险？

当调查受访者被问到他们是否认为阿片类药物和阿片类对社会有益时，近52％的人表示他们发挥了积极和消极的作用。超过31％的人表示，他们只发挥消极作用，只有10.5％的调查受访者表示他们只发挥着积极的作用。

This can represent the fact that most people do feel that阿片类药物在医学中具有作用, but also that the risks and downsides of these drugs need to be fully explored and patients need to be better informed.