NEJM Listen To Interview - Addressing the Fentanyl Threat to Public Health

Addressing the Fentanyl Threat to Public Health

Richard G. Frank, Ph.D., and Harold A. Pollack, Ph.D.

N Engl J Med 2017; 376:605-607

February 16, 2017

DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1615145

Interview with Dr. Richard Frank on the increasing number of deaths involving fentanyl in the United States.
Supplement to the N Engl J Med 2017; 376:605-607

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Article

Addressing the Fentanyl Threat to Public Health

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, poses an increasing public health threat. Low production costs encourage suppliers to “cut” heroin with the drug, particularly white powder heroin sold in the eastern United States.1 Fentanyl also appears as a prevalent active ingredient in counterfeit OxyContin (oxycodone) tablets. The result is that fentanyl plays a major role in rising mortality due to heroin or opioid overdose. It poses a serious overdose risk because it can rapidly suppress respiration and cause death more quickly than do other opioids.

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