opioid epidemic

American  

[oh-pee--oid ep-i-dem-ik] / ˈoʊ pi ˌɔɪd ˌɛp ɪˈdɛm ɪk /

noun

1. a public health crisis brought about by a notable increase in the use of opioids.

   legislative efforts to deal with the opioid epidemic.

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Etymology

Origin of opioid epidemic

First recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

Starting in the late 1980s in western Virginia, Kingsolver’s reimagining of “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens combines a rebuke of the modern foster care system with the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic.

From Los Angeles Times

“At the California Department of Justice, we are committed to holding entities, like Kroger, accountable for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic,” Atty.

From Los Angeles Times

The National Academy of Sciences is asking a court to allow it to repurpose about $30 million in donations from the wealthy Sackler family, who controlled the company at the center of the opioid epidemic, and to remove the family name from the endowment funds.

From New York Times

United States surgeon general Vivek Murthy has said that the epidemic of loneliness is still a "public health crisis on the scale of the opioid epidemic or obesity."

From Salon

The work is supported in part by millions in grants from Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy that has supported health care policies like lower drug prices, access to contraception, and solutions to the opioid epidemic.

From Seattle Times