Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 020 Economic Forecast 25 D E AT H S O F D E S P A I R T hey're called deaths of despair – suicide and addiction, including alcoholism and opi- oids. They're taking a major toll in Massachusetts and nationwide, and public health officials and lawmak- ers will continue their fights against these problems in 2020. Can the state make greater dent in opioid death rate? Three-quarters of the way through 2019, opioid deaths were down 6% compared to last year, indicating public health efforts are paying off, including the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program, which tracks such prescribed drugs. The program received 40% fewer Schedule II opioid prescrip- tions – including for fentanyl, OxyContin and Percocet – in the first nine months of 2019 compared to the previous year. The state says it has dou- bled spending to address the opioid cri- sis, including adding more than 1,200 new treatment beds. But make no mis- take, there's still a long way to go. Deaths topped 2,000 for the third year in a row, compared to less than 700 a decade ago. Intractable problems of addiction, suicide Deaths of despair are responsible in large part for the national life expectan- cy taking an unexpected drop the past few years. The Massachusetts mortality rate rose 12% from 2010 to 2017, bring- ing an estimated 1,155 extra deaths over that time, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Associates. Nationwide, that extra death count is a projected 33,000. While legislative action has aimed at reducing the opi- oid rate, the same can't be said for suicide and other deadly issues. Vaping issues fight for officials' atten- tion, too A national outbreak of illnesses traced to use of e-cigarettes – more than 2,400 sickened and 52 killed as of Dec. 10 – has spurred public action against vaping. So has polls showing just how many youth have taken up the habit: In just two years' time, use among high schoolers nationwide spiked from 11.7% to 27.5%. Flavored e-cigarettes is seen as a major culprit in young people taking up vaping. Two- thirds of high schoolers said in a survey they used fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, and another 57% said they used mint or menthol flavor. Massachusetts will have the chance to prove whether legislative action can work. The state is the first to restrict the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products to licensed smoking bars, which was accompanied by a 65% tax on vaping products. Fighting a rising tide Health officials and lawmakers had limited success in curtailing opioid deaths, although mental health issues continue to plague Massachusetts BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Dr. Kavita Babu, chief opioid officer at UMass Memorial Health Care W Top deaths of despair stories in 2019 Cafe Reyes in Worcester was set up with the Hector Reyes House to provide employment for Latino men in recovery. >> Worcester pharmacies stocked 49 million opioids leading up to crisis In the years just before the number of opioid-related deaths skyrocketed in Massachusetts and the nation, Worcester became the opioid painkiller capital of New England. More than 49 million opioid painkill- ers – Oxycontin, Vicodin and others – were distributed to Worcester pharma- cies in a seven-year period ending in 2012, far more than any other city in New England, illustrating how many opportunities there were for addiction in the years before opioid deaths spiked. Surrounding areas also had high rates. More than 190 million prescription opioid pain pills were distributed in Worcester County over that same sev- en-year period, enough for 34 pills per person per year, according to newly released U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration data that for the first time shows exactly where millions of addictive prescription pills were distrib- uted in communities across the country. Across Worcester County and in the city of Worcester itself, the number of opioid pills distributed rose by 41% from 2006 to 2012. Those pills flooded into Worcester and elsewhere after opioid addiction risks were well known but before deaths soared, which could lead to questions of how much local prescribers were culpa- ble in signing off on so many pills that led to an addiction crisis. "We know the trend was to use pain medications for pretty much every- thing," said Romas Buivydas, the vice president of clinical development for Worcester's Spectrum Health Systems, an addiction treatment provider where 72% of all admissions in the past year were opioid-related. "Now we know there's an inherent danger of addiction." Worcester had easily the most dis- tributed opioid pills of any city in New England, and more than four times the amount prescribed in Boston proper. Statistics in Athol and Gardner, two small cities in northern Worcester County, are even worse. Athol, a city of less than 12,000, had nearly 7 million pills distributed to its pharmacies during that period – enough for 84 pills each year for every man, woman and child. Gardner, a city of less than 21,000 people, had nearly 12 million opioids – enough for 82 pills each year per resident. Rate of prescription opioids per capi- ta tripled the state rate in those cities. In Worcester, it was 37% greater than the state average, and in Leominster, it was 72% higher. Public opinion on vaping turned after an unexpected outbreak led to multiple deaths and teen nicotine use began to rise. The CVS on Stafford Street in Worcester stocked 4.6 million opioid pills between 2006 and 2012. Continued on Page 26 P H O T O / E D D C O T E P H O T O / D R E A M S T I M E . C O M P H O T O / G R A N T W E L K E R

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