{"id":17600,"date":"2024-07-21T17:30:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-21T16:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=17600"},"modified":"2024-10-05T15:04:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T14:04:51","slug":"finally-recognizing-the-israeli-opioid-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2024\/07\/finally-recognizing-the-israeli-opioid-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally recognizing the Israeli opioid disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><main class=\"container body-content\"><\/p>\n<nav class=\"one-row\">\n<section class=\"left-side\">\n<section class=\"g-row breadcrumbs-wrap\">\n<section class=\"g-row breadcrumbs\">\n<section class=\"breadcrumbs-list\">\n<section class=\"breadcrumbs-link-section\">\n<figure class=\"figMergInline\"><a class=\"img-logo-sticky\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"width-100 alignleft\" title=\"The Jerusalem Post Logo - Bring them home now\" src=\"https:\/\/images.jpost.com\/image\/upload\/v1713438137\/logo4_d8nmsc.png\" alt=\"The Jerusalem Post Logo - Bring them home now\" width=\"240\" height=\"31\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/nav>\n<section class=\"one-row\">\n<article class=\"g-row left-side\">\n<section class=\"margin-container-body\">\n<section class=\"body-first-part\">\n<section class=\"g-row\">\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1><\/h1>\n<h1 class=\"g-row article-title\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Israel, now the largest per capita consumer of opioids, faces a rising crisis. Learn about the challenges, responses from health authorities, and the need for improved treatment and prevention.<\/span><\/h1>\n<section class=\"g-row article-subline\">\n<section class=\"article-subline-inner\">\n<section class=\"article-subline-inner-author\">\n<section class=\"article-subline-name\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">By\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Judy Siegel-Itzkovich<\/span><\/strong><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-subline-inner-updated-date\">\n<section class=\"date-data\">\n<section class=\"published-date-data\"><time datetime=\"2024-07-21T03:46:42+03:00\">July 21, 2024 03:46<\/time><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"g-row\">\n<section>\n<section class=\"margin-container-body-text\">\n<section class=\"mb-5\">\n<div class=\"trinityAudioPlaceholder trinityAudioPlaceholder_1\">\n<div class=\"trinity-player-iframe-wrapper\" data-player-id=\"dc4ce4410133fa43b6c1aeb9f15936b1\" data-state=\"not_initialized\" data-player-type=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"startBannerSticky\" class=\"article-inner-content\">When in 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted the deaths of over a million Americans from overdosing with opioids \u2013 synthetic, painkilling prescription drugs including fentanyl (100 times more powerful than morphine), oxycodone, hydrocodone and many others \u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/health-and-wellness\/article-810411\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Israel\u2019s Health Ministr<\/a>y was asked whether it could happen here. No, its spokesperson said, even though nearly every negative and positive phenomenon in North America inevitably arrives here within a couple of years.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>The epidemic began about 25 years ago when drug and healthcare companies began to enthusiastically promote these very-addictive chemicals, claiming they were effective in relieving suffering and did not cause dependency.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>A study published this past May by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that one out of every three Americans have lost someone \u2013 a relative or a friend \u2013 to an opioid or other drug overdose. The US National Institute on Drug Abuse found that more than 320,000 American children have lost parents from overdoses in the past decade, and the annual financial costs to the US of the opioid crisis is $1 trillion.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"divVidazoo hide-for-premium\"><strong>Largest consumers of opioids per capita<\/strong><\/div>\n<p>Incredibly, Israelis today are the largest consumers per capita in the world of opioids, and an untold number of them are addicted or have already died. No one knows the fatality figures here, as the causes of death are described as organ failures, seizures, heart attack or stroke \u2013 not listed by what really caused them.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Is this another example of a \u201cmisconception\u201d \u2013 wishful thinking on the scale of the belief by the government, the IDF, and the security forces that Hamas would \u201cbehave\u201d if regularly paid off with suitcases full of cash? Is Israel headed to where the US already is? Perhaps. What is clear is that our various health authorities now have to somehow clean up the opioid mess.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<figure class=\"article-image-in-body\"><\/figure>\n<p>The scandal has been indirectly embarrassing for Israel because among the most notorious companies involved in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/podcast\/yaakov-and-lahav\/article-735240\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opioid disaster<\/a>\u00a0is the Sackler family, who own the Purdue Pharma company that manufactured and promoted the powerful and addictive opioid OxyContin and who are now drowning in huge lawsuits. Tel Aviv University\u2019s Medical Faculty that was for decades known as the Sackler Faculty has deleted it from its name.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Last year, the Knesset Health Committee met to discuss the rise in opioid consumption here, with testimony from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev School of Public Health dean and leading epidemiologist Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, who is also the principal researcher and chairman of the Taub Center Health Policy Program. He stressed that inappropriate use of strong pain medications leads to addiction and other severe negative consequences and noted that while most of the rise in consumption is among patients of lower socioeconomic status, the well-off are also hooked. Davidovitch called for the launching of serious programs to treat addicted Israelis based on the experiences of other countries with the crisis.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<section class=\"hide-for-premium\">\n<div class=\"ob-smartfeed-wrapper feedIdx-1\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Opioids attach themselves to opioid-receptor proteins on nerve cells in the brain, gut, spinal cord, and other parts of the body. This obstructs pain messages sent from the body through the spinal cord to the brain. While they can effectively relieve pain, they can be very addictive, especially when they are consumed for more than a few months to ease acute pain, out of habit, or from the patients\u2019 feeling of pleasure (they make some users feel \u201chigh\u201d). Patients who suddenly stop taking them can sometimes suffer from insomnia or jittery nerves, so it\u2019s important to taper off before ultimately stopping to take them.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>The Health Ministry was forced in 2022 to alter the labels on packaging of opioid drugs to warn about the danger of addiction after the High Court of Justice heard a petition by the Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and the patients\u2019 rights organization Le\u2019altar that claimed the ministry came under pressure from the pharmaceutical companies to oppose this. After ministry documents that showed doctors knew little about the addictions caused by opioids were made public by the petitioners, psychiatrist Dr. Paola Rosca \u2013 head of the ministry\u2019s addictions department \u2013 told the court that the synthetic painkillers cause addiction. She has not denied the claim that the ministry was squeezed by the drug companies to oppose label changes.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<h3><strong>No special prescription, no time limit, no supervision<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Prof. Pinhas Dannon \u2013 chief psychiatrist of the Herzog Medical Center in Jerusalem and a leading expert on opioid addiction \u2013 noted that anyone with a medical degree can prescribe synthetic painkillers to patients. \u201cThere is no special prescription, no time limit, no supervision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>\u201cA person who undergoes surgery who might suffer from serious pain is often automatically given prescriptions for opioids \u2013 not just one but several,\u201d Dannon revealed. \u201cNobody checks afterwards whether the patient took them, handed them over to others (for money or not), whether they took several kinds at once, or whether they stopped taking them. They are also prescribed by family physicians, orthopedists treating chronic back pain, urologists, and other doctors, not only by surgeons.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Dannon, who runs a hospital clinic that tries to cure opioid addiction, said there are only about three psychiatric hospitals around the country that have small in-house departments to treat severely addicted patients. \u201cNot all those addicted need inpatient treatment, but when we build our new psychiatry center, we would be able to provide such a service.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Since opioids are relatively cheap and included in the basket of health services, the four public health funds that pay for and supply them have not paid much attention. Once a drug is in the basket, it isn\u2019t removed or questioned. Only now, when threatened by lawsuits over dependency, have the health funds begun to take notice and try to promote reductions in use.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<section class=\"hide-for-premium\">\n<div class=\"ob-smartfeed-wrapper feedIdx-2\">\n<div id=\"outbrain_widget_2\" class=\"OUTBRAIN\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/\/health-and-wellness\/article-811126\" data-widget-id=\"AR_38\" data-ob-mark=\"true\" data-browser=\"chrome\" data-os=\"win32\" data-dynload=\"\" data-idx=\"2\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget ob-feed-layout AR_38\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget-header\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-cards\">\n<div id=\"outbrain_widget_3001\" class=\"OUTBRAIN\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/\/health-and-wellness\/article-811126\" data-widget-id=\"FMS_PS_1\" data-card-idx=\"1\" data-feed-father-idx=\"2\" data-ob-mark=\"true\" data-browser=\"chrome\" data-os=\"win32\" data-dynload=\"\" data-idx=\"3001\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"ob-widget ob-grid-layout FMS_PS_1 ob-feed-idx-2-11741-94426\" data-dynamic-truncate=\"true\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget-items-container\">\n<div class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-container ob-recIdx-0 ob-p\" data-pos=\"0\">\n<div class=\"ob-image-ratio\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-link \" href=\"https:\/\/bredings-person.com\/b16229fc-1e34-4ce5-929b-f76138f701b7?utm_source=ob&amp;utm_campaign=NeuroUK_DesktopSemi_1807&amp;utm_term=$section_name$&amp;utm_content=0042d0cfd5d67bbb92cb5e8fa5f7363294-Neuropathy+%28Nerve+Pain%29%3F+Do+This+Immediately+%28Watch%29&amp;t=$ob_click_id$&amp;a=ob&amp;obOrigUrl=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-rec-en-did=\"esUWLWHzCsK8JQMMeObQAg\" data-adv-id=\"59795243\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-image-container\" data-type=\"Image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ob-rec-image ob-show\" title=\"Neuropathy (Nerve Pain)? Do This Immediately (Watch)\" src=\"https:\/\/images.outbrainimg.com\/transform\/v3\/eyJpdSI6IjM5MDA2N2Y4MDY0NzVhMWQzMjIxOTIwM2Y5OGQ5MDE2NzRlNmU5OTExYzZiNTFkMTI1NTIzODE4NjIwZTEyOTQiLCJ3Ijo0NTAsImgiOjMwMCwiZCI6MS41LCJjcyI6MCwiZiI6MH0.jpg\" alt=\"Neuropathy (Nerve Pain)? Do This Immediately (Watch)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"ob-sub-units\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-text\" title=\"Neuropathy (Nerve Pain)? Do This Immediately (Watch)\" data-type=\"Title\">Neuropathy (Nerve Pain)? Do This Immediately (Watch)<\/span><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-source\" data-type=\"Source\">Sponsored by Neuropathy Aid<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-container ob-recIdx-1 ob-p\" data-pos=\"1\">\n<div class=\"ob-image-ratio\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-link \" href=\"https:\/\/physicalhealthdiscovery.com\/silent-signs\/?utm_source=Niarbtuo&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=Diabetes%3A+NHS+Doctor+Reveal+3+Food+Mistakes+that+%E2%80%98Skyrocket%E2%80%99+Your+Bloo&amp;c=00d38fbe872e416060c4ce62a1c7453e7a&amp;p=$section_id$&amp;q=$publisher_id$&amp;a=00e658c034b50dafa417a61078f61a29f0&amp;cc=$cpc$&amp;obclick=$ob_click_id$&amp;obOrigUrl=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-rec-en-did=\"boD8l2QJAnllbbQrR9pIbg\" data-adv-id=\"61539713\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-image-container\" data-type=\"Image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ob-rec-image ob-show\" title=\"Diabetes: NHS Doctor Reveal 3 Food Mistakes that \u2018Skyrocket\u2019 Your Blood Sugar\" src=\"https:\/\/images.outbrainimg.com\/transform\/v3\/eyJpdSI6ImY1MjdlMTM3ZmY2NWMzMTM1NzEwNzgzZjUwNzRhZDY1NDY1YTE3MzhkNmJhMGU1ZjgzMzdhYmYwNTFlMWI1NmQiLCJ3Ijo0NTAsImgiOjMwMCwiZCI6MS41LCJjcyI6MCwiZiI6MH0.jpg\" alt=\"Diabetes: NHS Doctor Reveal 3 Food Mistakes that \u2018Skyrocket\u2019 Your Blood Sugar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"ob-sub-units\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-text\" title=\"Diabetes: NHS Doctor Reveal 3 Food Mistakes that \u2018Skyrocket\u2019 Your Blood Sugar\" data-type=\"Title\">Diabetes: NHS Doctor Reveal 3 Food Mistakes that \u2018Skyrocket\u2019 Your Blood Sugar<\/span><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-source\" data-type=\"Source\">Sponsored by Physical Health Discovery<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-container ob-recIdx-2 ob-p\" data-pos=\"2\">\n<div class=\"ob-image-ratio\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-link \" href=\"https:\/\/newdietdiscovery.com\/fatal-mistake\/?utm_source=Niarbtuo&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=Cardiologist%3A+Take+1+Shot+Of+Olive+Oil+At+Night%2C+Watch+Your+Tummy+Flat&amp;c=00619fc14c3c8a021539b515f79e86e877&amp;p=$section_id$&amp;q=$publisher_id$&amp;a=005747e2488baf76e0d8ec4feda51d0e88&amp;cc=$cpc$&amp;obclick=$ob_click_id$&amp;utm_sec=$section_name$&amp;utm_pub=$publisher_name$&amp;obOrigUrl=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-rec-en-did=\"rhFkmRwClm8FZfuJbuUUkA\" data-adv-id=\"58401663\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-image-container\" data-type=\"Image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ob-rec-image ob-show\" title=\"Cardiologist: Take 1 Shot Of Olive Oil At Night, Watch Your Tummy Flatten\" src=\"https:\/\/images.outbrainimg.com\/transform\/v3\/eyJpdSI6IjQ5MjFiZjk0ZjUxZGE3MGU5ZTg1ZTY0NjA3NTk5N2FhN2RhZjhhZTgyMWM2YzVjNTEyODI4ZDI0ZDE2YzBlNmMiLCJ3Ijo0NTAsImgiOjMwMCwiZCI6MS41LCJjcyI6MCwiZiI6MH0.jpg\" alt=\"Cardiologist: Take 1 Shot Of Olive Oil At Night, Watch Your Tummy Flatten\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"ob-sub-units\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-text\" title=\"Cardiologist: Take 1 Shot Of Olive Oil At Night, Watch Your Tummy Flatten\" data-type=\"Title\">Cardiologist: Take 1 Shot Of Olive Oil At Night, Watch Your Tummy Flatten<\/span><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-source\" data-type=\"Source\">Sponsored by New Diet Discovery<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-container ob-recIdx-3 ob-p\" data-pos=\"3\">\n<div class=\"ob-image-ratio\"><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"ob-dynamic-rec-link \" href=\"https:\/\/gopetrolink.com\/native?utm_source=005628fa198d08c6d1774465bd34583db4&amp;utm_campaign=1_OB_UK_Oil_Desk&amp;utm_medium=$section_id$&amp;obOrigUrl=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-rec-en-did=\"SZ6wV55E3Ybcd4tb8FUq_A\" data-adv-id=\"67983791\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-image-container\" data-type=\"Image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ob-rec-image ob-show\" title=\"If You Got $17,000 to Invest, Forget Nvidia. This will Soar\" src=\"https:\/\/images.outbrainimg.com\/transform\/v3\/eyJpdSI6ImY3OTI2NmViMTQ5NDhiMjNlZjYwYWNmODk0ZjNlZWQ0YWViNzkyMDRlMmI0MGMzNGE3NWVmMjFiNjhkZDk1ZTQiLCJ3Ijo0NTAsImgiOjMwMCwiZCI6MS41LCJjcyI6MCwiZiI6MH0.jpg\" alt=\"If You Got $17,000 to Invest, Forget Nvidia. This will Soar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"ob-sub-units\"><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-text\" title=\"If You Got $17,000 to Invest, Forget Nvidia. This will Soar\" data-type=\"Title\">If You Got $17,000 to Invest, Forget Nvidia. This will Soar<\/span><span class=\"ob-unit ob-rec-source\" data-type=\"Source\">Sponsored by GoPetrolink.com<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-widget-footer\">\n<div class=\"ob-pixels\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-widget-footer\">\n<div class=\"ob_what ob_what_resp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outbrain.com\/what-is\/default\/en\" rel=\"nofollow\">Recommended by<span class=\"ob_amelia\" title=\"outbrain.com\"><span class=\"screen-reader-only\">What is Outbrain<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Dannon declared that the health funds, hospitals, and pharmacies must seriously supervise opioid use by tracking and be required by the ministry to report who is taking them, how much, what ages, and for how long. Opioids are meant for acute pain, not for a long period. \u201cThe Health Ministry puts out fires but is faulty in prevention and supervision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>A Canadian research team has just conducted a study at seven hospital emergency departments in Quebec and Ontario to determine the ideal quantity of prescription opioids to control pain in discharged patients and reduce unused opioids available for misuse.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>They recommended that doctors could adapt prescribing quantity to the specific condition causing pain, based on estimates to alleviate pain in 80% of patients for two weeks, with the smallest quantity for kidney or abdominal pain (eight tablets) and the highest for back pain (21 tablets) or fractures (24 tablets), and add an expiry date for them. Since half of participants consumed even smaller quantities, pharmacists could provide half this quantity to further reduce unused opioids available for misuse.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<h3><strong>No medical instruction on the issue<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Rosca, who was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/opinion\/article-798655\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">born in Italy<\/a>\u00a0where she studied medicine and came on aliyah in 1983, has worked in the ministry since 2000; in 2006, she became head of the addictions department.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>\u201cIn Italy, every psychiatrist must learn about alcohol and other drug addictions including opioids,\u201d she said. \u201cHere, there is no mandatory course in any medical school on the subject. We tried to persuade the Israel Medical Association and its Scientific Council, which decides on curricula and specializations, but we didn\u2019t succeed. Maybe now, in the face of the crisis, it will change its mind. We run optional courses as continuing medical education for physicians who are interested.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Her department wanted pharmacists to provide electronic monitoring of opioid purchases, but \u201cthe Justice Ministry opposed it on the grounds that it would violate privacy. I wasn\u2019t asked for my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>She concedes that the ministry lacks statistics on the number of addicted people, and Arabs have been excluded from estimates until now. \u201cWe\u2019re doing a study with Jerusalem\u2019s Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute to find out how many. Some say one percent, some say five percent. We hope that by December, we will get more accurate figures. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry set up a committee on what to do about opioids, but its recommendations were never published, and there was no campaign,\u201d Rosca recalled.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>In 1988, the government established the statutory Anti-Drug Authority that was located in Jerusalem\u2019s Givat Shaul neighborhood. It was active in fighting abuse and shared research with foreign experts, but seven years ago, its name was changed to the National Authority for Community Safety and became part of the Ministry for National Security, losing much of its budgets \u2013 and, according to observers, its effectiveness as well.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>The Health Ministry used to be responsible for setting up and operating clinics for drug rehabilitation, but it handed this over in 1997 to a non-profit organization called the Israel Public Health Association, which employs numerous former ministry professionals. Its director-general, lawyer Yasmin Nachum, told the Post in an interview that the IPHA is very active in fighting drug addiction.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>\u201cIsrael can\u2019t deny anymore that we are in a worrisome opioid epidemic like that in the US: We are there,\u201d he said. \u201cWe see patients every day. Some used to take heroin and other street drugs, but with the easy access and low price, they have switched to opioids. If they are hospitalized for an operation and don\u2019t use all the prescriptions they are given, they sell them to others. We want to have representation in every hospital to warn doctors and patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Of a staff of 1,100, the IPHA has 170 professionals \u2013 narcotics experts, social workers, occupational therapists, and others working with 3,000 addicted patients every day. Its other activities include mental health, ensuring safety of food and water, and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<h3><strong>Stopping after six months<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWe work in full cooperation with the ministry,\u201d Nachum said. \u201cOur approach is that when opioids are taken for pain for as long as six months, it\u2019s the time to stop taking them. The doctors provide addicted patients with a drug called buprenorphine, sold under the brand name Subutex, which is used to treat opioid-use disorder, acute pain, and chronic pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Buprenorphine is a mixed opioid agonist and antagonist. That means it has some of the effects of opioids but also blocks some of their effects. Before the patient can take it under direct observation, he must have moderate opioid-withdrawal symptoms. The drug relieves withdrawal symptoms from other opioids and induces some euphoria, but it also blocks the efficacy of many other opioids including heroin, to create an effect.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Buprenorphine levels in the blood stay consistent throughout the month. Nachum said the replacement drug is relatively safe, with some side effects, but fortunately, there is no danger of an overdose.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>NARCAN (NALOXDONE) is another prescription drug used by some professionals to fight addiction. Not in Israel\u2019s basket of health services, it blocks the effects of opioids by temporarily reversing them, helping the patient to breathe again and wake up from an overdose. While it has saved countless lives, new and more powerful opioids keep appearing, and first responders are finding it increasingly difficult to revive people with it.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>Now, US researchers have found an approach that could extend naloxone\u2019s lifesaving power, even in the face of continually more dangerous opioids by using potential drugs that make naloxone more potent and longer lasting. Naloxone is a lifesaver, but it\u2019s not a miracle drug; it has limitations, the team said.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>After the Nova massacre on October 7, when significant numbers of participants who were murdered were high on drugs, the IPHA received a huge number of calls. In December, Nachum decided to open a hotline run by professionals about addiction that has been called monthly by some 300 people. \u201cWe also hold lectures for pain doctors, family physicians, and others who are interested, because there has been so little awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/section>\n<p>All agree that the opioid crisis has been seriously neglected here and that if it is not dealt with seriously and in joint efforts headed by healthcare authorities, it will snowball and add to Israel\u2019s current physical and psychological damage.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fake-br-for-article-body\"><\/div>\n<p>Source: https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/health-and-wellness\/article-811126<\/p>\n<section><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"margin-container-body-text\">\n<section class=\"g-row article-tags\">\n<section class=\"related-tags\">\n<section class=\"related-tag-container\">\n<section><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel, now the largest per capita consumer of opioids, faces a rising crisis. Learn about the challenges, responses from health authorities, and the need for improved treatment and prevention. By\u00a0Judy Siegel-Itzkovich July 21, 2024 03:46 When in 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted the deaths of over a million Americans from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,9,68,64,20,119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addiction","category-drug-specifics","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-health","category-others","category-prevalence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}