(NPR — Feb. 16, 2024)
25%
The proportion of recent overdose deaths among 10- to 19-year-olds that were traced to counterfeit Xanax, Adderall or Percocet pills laced with fentanyl.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends offering buprenorphine to teens addicted to opioids, and yet just 6 percent of pediatricians. Prescriptions instead have been declining even as overdose deaths for 10- to 19-year-olds have more than doubled. Overdoses, along with accidental opioid poisonings among young children, are now the third leading cause of death for U.S. children.
