CDC: Binge drinkers nearly twice as likely to misuse prescription opioids

More than half of the 4.2 million Americans who reported misusing prescription opioids when surveyed between 2012 and 2014 also reported binge drinking, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reported today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Women who reported consuming four or more drinks per occasion and men who reported consuming five or more drinks per occasion in the past 30 days were nearly twice as likely as non-drinkers were to report misusing prescription opioids during the period, based on responses to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. “We are losing far too many Americans each day from overdoses,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D. “Combining alcohol and opioids can significantly increase the risk of overdoses and deaths.”