Tag: overdose

Fatal cardiac arrests could be hiding opioid overdose deaths in the US

A study in San Francisco has found that 17 per cent of deaths ascribed to cardiac arrest were actually caused by drug overdose, most commonly opioids Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2251376-fatal-cardiac-arrests-could-be-hiding-opioid-overdose-deaths-in-the-us/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Smartwatch Hack Could Trick Patients To ‘Take Pills’ With Spoofed Alerts

Security researchers say a smartwatch, popular with the elderly and dementia patients, could have been tricked into letting an attacker easily take control of the device. From a report: These watches are designed to help patients to easily call their carers and for carers to track the location of their patients. They come with their own cellular connection, so that they…

Regularly attending religious services associated with lower risk of deaths of despair, study finds

People who attended religious services at least once a week were significantly less likely to die from ‘deaths of despair,’ including deaths related to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol poisoning, according to new research. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200506133627.htm

US opioid crisis: 100,000 overdose deaths may have gone uncounted

A new analysis suggests that 100,000 overdose deaths in the US due to unspecified drugs were actually caused by opioids – bringing the total death count to more than 450,000 people Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2235606-us-opioid-crisis-100000-overdose-deaths-may-have-gone-uncounted/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

World’s First Opioid Vending Machine Opens In Vancouver

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: A vending machine for powerful opioids has opened in Canada as part of a project to help fight the Canadian city’s overdose crisis. The MySafe project, which resembles a cash machine, gives addicts access to a prescribed amount of medical quality hydromorphone, a drug about twice as powerful as heroin. Don Durban,…

HQ Trivia, the Once-Popular Mobile Game, Is Shutting Down

CNN Business has learned that the once-popular live mobile trivia game “HQ Trivia” is shutting down. From the report: When HQ launched in 2017, its first game HQ Trivia quickly attracted millions of people across the world who stopped whatever they were doing twice a day to play the game on their smartphones. The company was profiled by The New York…

Benzodiazepine prescriptions reach ‘disturbing’ levels in the US

Addictive benzodiazepines are prescribed at 66 million doctor appointments a year in the US – often with opioids, making it easier to fatally overdose Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230379-benzodiazepine-prescriptions-reach-disturbing-levels-in-the-us/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Chronic Pain is an Impossible Problem

A “safe” alternative to opioid painkillers turns out to be not so safe. From a report: Gabapentin was supposed to be the answer. Chronic pain afflicts about a fifth of American adults, and for years, doctors thought it could be treated with prescription painkillers like Oxycontin. But as the drugs began killing the equivalent of three planeloads of Americans every week,…

A hidden drug overdose crisis has struck Scotland – can we fix it?

Illegal benzodiazepine drugs that cost as little as 15p per tablet are fuelling an overdose crisis in Scotland. How can we prevent hundreds more deaths? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332503-200-a-hidden-drug-overdose-crisis-has-struck-scotland-can-we-fix-it/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…