newswire: 7/25/2020
- During the pandemic, the number of suspected drug overdoses has soared nationwide. With the economy stagnating and vulnerable people isolated with few treatment options, drug overdoses jumped 42% in May alone. (The Washington Post)
- NH: Overdose deaths began to fall in early 2018. But it turns out this good news was short-lived. By 2019, drug-related deaths were again on the rise. The current uptick in overdoses is simply an acceleration of a trend we were already seeing. See “US Life Expectancy Rises At Last.”
- According to ODMAP, a federally run program that collects data from local police and hospital records, overdoses nationwide increased YoY in March by 18%, in April by 29%, and in May by 42%. In Chicago alone, the Cook County medical record shows 656 overdose deaths for May. In 2019, Chicago only reported 473 overdose deaths from the period of January to June.
- The drug of choice is fentanyl. This is the same drug that has wreaked havoc over America for the last three years. The recent opioid epidemic has gone through three stages: The first stage was driven by prescription drugs, the second was driven by natural opioids like heroin; and the third (and deadliest) by illegal synthetics like fentanyl. Fentanyl is relatively easy to make in a lab. It's also extremely powerful: 50 to 100X more potent by weight than heroin. And for that reason it's easy to conceal and transport. See “Overdose Mortality Falling, But Fentanyl Deaths Still Rising” and “How the Deadly Drug Fentanyl Is Making Its Way to the US.”
- Why are overdoses increasing during the pandemic? One reason may simply be idleness and boredom. Employment hours have tanked, but--thanks for stimulus--disposable personal income has surged. A spokesperson from the Vermont Department of Health stated that preliminary data shows a surge in overdoses the same week stimulus checks were received.
- OK, call me a dark cynic. But If unemployment remains high and stimulus benefits continue to flow unabated through the rest of 2020, don't be surprised if the overdose rate clocks in much higher in 2020. That doesn't necessarily means stimulus during the shutdown is a bad idea. It just means that we should brace for certain collateral health effects--both good and bad.
DID YOU KNOW?
- His Makeup Looks Great. CVS, the country’s largest drugstore chain, is making a big bet on men’s makeup. That’s according to Bloomberg, which announced that the company will add the men’s cosmetics line Stryx to 2,000 stores (about a quarter of its total locations). Stryx was launched last year by a 28-year-old Millennial, Devir Kahan, who wanted more practical options for men to improve the look of their skin—concealer to help cover up zits, for example, or tinted moisturizer to reduce redness. It’s a major step forward for the world of men’s grooming, which for decades has focused on products related to shaving. Men looking for makeup could only find a small selection in high-end stores. But with recent surveys showing that one-third of men under age 45 are willing to try cosmetics, CVS believes the U.S. market will only grow. Quarantine has helped, too, by allowing some interested men to “test-drive” products at home.
