阿片类药物将人类健康处于危险之中

阿片类药物将人类健康处于危险之中

Here's a look at the opioid crisis.

让我们来看看阿片类药物危机。

Experts say the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic. An estimated 10.3 million Americans aged 12 and older misused opioids in 2018, including 9.9 million prescription pain reliever abusers and 808,000 heroin users.

专家表示，美国正处于阿片类药物流行的阵痛之中。据估计，2018年有1030万12岁及12岁以上的美国人滥用阿片类药物，包括990万处方止痛药滥用者和808000名海洛因滥用者。

Opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain-educing properties of opium. Prescription painkillers like morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone are opioids. Illegal drugs like heroin and illicitly made fentanyl are also opioids. The word "opioid" is derived from the word "opium."

阿片类药物是用来复制鸦片的止痛特性而配制的药物。处方止痛药如吗啡，羟可酮和氢可酮是阿片类药物。海洛因和芬太尼等非法药物也是阿片类药物。“阿片类”这个词来源于“鸦片”这个词。

During 2017, there were more than 70,200 overdose deaths in the United States and 47,600 of those overdose deaths involved opioids.

在2017年，美国有超过70,200例药物过量死亡，其中47,600例与阿片类药物有关。

More than 130 people died every day from opioid-related drug overdoses in 2016 and 2017, according to the US Department of Health & Human Services.

根据美国卫生与公众服务部的数据，在2016年和2017年，每天有130多人死于过量服用阿片类相关药物。

Prescription opioid volumes peaked in 2011, with the equivalent of 240 billion milligrams of morphine prescribed, according to the market research firm, IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science.

根据市场研究公司IQVIA人类数据科学研究所的数据，处方阿片类药物数量在2011年达到峰值，相当于开了2400亿毫克的吗啡。

Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee had the highest opioid prescription rates in 2017.

2017年，阿拉巴马州、阿肯色州、密西西比州和田纳西州的阿片类药物处方率最高。

Common Opioids

常见的阿片类药物

Opioids such as morphine and codeine are naturally derived from opium poppy plants more commonly grown in Asia, Central America and South America. Heroin is an illegal drug synthesized from morphine.

吗啡和可待因等阿片类药物是从罂粟中提取的，罂粟在亚洲、中美洲和南美洲更为常见。海洛因是一种由吗啡合成的非法毒品。

Hydrocodone and oxycodone are semi-synthetic opioids, manufactured in labs with natural and synthetic ingredients. Between 2007 and 2016, the most widely prescribed opioid was hydrocodone (Vicodin). In 2016, 6.2 billion hydrocodone pills were distributed nationwide.

氢可酮和氧可酮是半合成的阿片类药物，在实验室里由天然和合成成分制成。2007年至2016年间，最广泛使用的阿片类药物是氢可酮(维柯丁)。2016年，全国共发放氢可酮片62亿片。

The second most prevalent opioid was oxycodone (Percocet). In 2016, 5 billion oxycodone tablets were distributed in the United States, according to IQVIA.

第二常见的阿片类药物是羟考酮。IQVIA的数据显示，2016年，美国共销售了50亿片羟考酮。

Fentanyl is a fully synthetic opioid, originally developed as a powerful anesthetic for surgery. It is also administered to alleviate severe pain associated with terminal illnesses like cancer. The drug is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Just a small dose can be deadly.

芬太尼是一种全合成的阿片类药物，最初是作为一种强大的手术麻醉剂开发的。它还可以缓解与癌症等晚期疾病相关的严重疼痛。这种药物的效力是吗啡的100倍。小剂量也可能致命。

Addiction

上瘾性

People who become dependent on opioids may experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop using the medication. Dependence is often coupled with tolerance, meaning that users need to take increasingly larger doses for the same effect.

依赖阿片类药物的人停止用药后可能会出现戒断症状。依赖性往往伴随着耐受性，这意味着使用者需要服用越来越大的剂量才能达到同样的效果。

People who become dependent on pain pills may switch to heroin because it is less expensive than prescription drugs. Individuals who are addicted to prescription opioids are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin.

依赖止痛药的人可能会转向海洛因，因为它比处方药便宜。对处方类阿片类药物上瘾的人对海洛因上瘾的可能性是普通人的40倍。

Regulation and Funding

监管和资金

The 21st Century Cures Act, passed in 2016, allocated $1 billion over two years in opioid crisis grants to states, providing funding for expanded treatment and prevention programs. In April 2017, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price announced the distribution of the first round of $485 million in grants to all 50 states and US territories.

2016年通过的《21世纪治疗法案》在两年内向各州拨款10亿美元，用于阿片类药物危机拨款，为扩大治疗和预防项目提供资金。2017年4月，卫生和公共服务部长汤姆·普莱斯宣布向所有50个州和美国领土发放第一轮4.85亿美元拨款。