Doctors are over prescribing painkillers especially for senior citizens. This practice can result in labored breathing and even death.
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Deaths caused by overdosing on painkillers now surpass murders and fatal car accidents in the US.
US officials now acknowledge that prescription narcotics are a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses. The reason for the resurgence of heroin is in large part due to it being less expensive than its prescription counterparts.
According to one recent study, more than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioid drugs during their pregnancy. The most common reason for the prescription was back pain.