Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis
The prescription opioid epidemic has slowly evolved over the past quarter century with increasingly detrimental consequences for public health. Man-made crises are often unforeseen and characterized by a situation without natural causes where – because of human intent, error, negligence, or the fail...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1241404/full |
| _version_ | 1797356951929094144 |
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| author | Rebecca McDonald Desiree Eide Svetlana Skurtveit Svetlana Skurtveit Thomas Clausen |
| author_facet | Rebecca McDonald Desiree Eide Svetlana Skurtveit Svetlana Skurtveit Thomas Clausen |
| author_sort | Rebecca McDonald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The prescription opioid epidemic has slowly evolved over the past quarter century with increasingly detrimental consequences for public health. Man-made crises are often unforeseen and characterized by a situation without natural causes where – because of human intent, error, negligence, or the failure of manmade systems – the level of needs in the population exceeds available resources to counter the problem. This paper presents the prescription opioid epidemic as a man-made crisis and explores the public health impact of opioid manufacturers and other industries producing commodities with addictive potential as a shared vulnerability among countries. We examine this concept within the framework of the commercial determinants of health. We address three key aspects of the commercial determinants of health: (1) Cross-industry mechanisms, (2) policy inertia, and (3) the role of industry in science. Within cross-industry mechanisms, we explore parallels between prescription opioid epidemic and unhealthy commodity industries in terms of marketing, corporate use of misinformation, and diversionary tactics. Next, we examine how policy inertia has dominated the slow response to this man-made crisis. Lastly, we discuss how results from clinical trials are used as a key marketing strategy for drugs. The origins of the prescription opioid epidemic may be traced to innovations in drug development with the promise of improved pain management. However, through multiple factors, including fraudulent marketing from pharmaceutical industry and policy inertia, the resulting crisis represents a multi-system failure of regulation exploited by corporate greed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:36:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6490ee11b70541ec8949f647e800368d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:36:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-6490ee11b70541ec8949f647e800368d2024-01-12T04:39:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652024-01-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.12414041241404Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisisRebecca McDonald0Desiree Eide1Svetlana Skurtveit2Svetlana Skurtveit3Thomas Clausen4Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Chronic Diseases, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, NorwayNorwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayThe prescription opioid epidemic has slowly evolved over the past quarter century with increasingly detrimental consequences for public health. Man-made crises are often unforeseen and characterized by a situation without natural causes where – because of human intent, error, negligence, or the failure of manmade systems – the level of needs in the population exceeds available resources to counter the problem. This paper presents the prescription opioid epidemic as a man-made crisis and explores the public health impact of opioid manufacturers and other industries producing commodities with addictive potential as a shared vulnerability among countries. We examine this concept within the framework of the commercial determinants of health. We address three key aspects of the commercial determinants of health: (1) Cross-industry mechanisms, (2) policy inertia, and (3) the role of industry in science. Within cross-industry mechanisms, we explore parallels between prescription opioid epidemic and unhealthy commodity industries in terms of marketing, corporate use of misinformation, and diversionary tactics. Next, we examine how policy inertia has dominated the slow response to this man-made crisis. Lastly, we discuss how results from clinical trials are used as a key marketing strategy for drugs. The origins of the prescription opioid epidemic may be traced to innovations in drug development with the promise of improved pain management. However, through multiple factors, including fraudulent marketing from pharmaceutical industry and policy inertia, the resulting crisis represents a multi-system failure of regulation exploited by corporate greed.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1241404/fullanalgesicsoverdosemisuseprescription opioidspoisoningoxycodone |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca McDonald Desiree Eide Svetlana Skurtveit Svetlana Skurtveit Thomas Clausen Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis Frontiers in Public Health analgesics overdose misuse prescription opioids poisoning oxycodone |
| title | Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis |
| title_full | Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis |
| title_fullStr | Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis |
| title_short | Pills and the damage done: the opioid epidemic as man-made crisis |
| title_sort | pills and the damage done the opioid epidemic as man made crisis |
| topic | analgesics overdose misuse prescription opioids poisoning oxycodone |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1241404/full |
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