Deadly drugs
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. The fourth leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 64 is suicide. And often, those deaths involve alcohol or drugs. Drug and alcohol abuse can put people at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has the sad statistics. The CDC's Debra Karch: "When tests are done, alcohol is found in more than one out of three suicide victims. Opiates, which include heroin and prescription pain killers, were found in one of six suicide victims." (13 seconds) Karch points out that friends and family should take signs of suicide very seriously. She says a good place to start is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK. The Lifeline can link people with crisis support and suicide prevention programs. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: February, 22 2007 | 
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