With a bag of heroine now cheaper than a pack of cigarettes, America’s opioid epidemic shows no signs of slowing down.
However, even more worrying is this condition is now spreading to the youngest, as Axios reports, every 15 minutes, a baby is born addicted to opioids.
As the following Axios report details, in Baltimore, doctors at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital say babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – a set of conditions caused by withdrawal from exposure to drugs – now account for 25% of the hospital’s admissions.
Nationally, the number of babies born with the syndrome has increased by over 400 percent since 2004. For Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, the community must first recognize addiction as a disease to address the larger trend of the opioid epidemic.
But as drug-related deaths continue to increase, the future remains uncertain.
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