Tag: prescription painkillers

40%

Of Americans know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers, including 25% who say it was a close friend or family member and 2% who acknowledge their own addiction, the Washington Post reports from a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. More from the survey: 16% say they know someone who has died from an overdose of prescription painkillers, including 9% who say that person was a family member or close friend; 56% of the public say they have some personal connection to the issue; prescription painkiller abuse is most common among whites (63%) and the affluent (63% among people with incomes of $90,000 or more).