| Author: Laura Sophia Hauck laura.hauck@mwi.uni-heidelberg.de Max-Weber-Institut für Soziologie Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg |
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For years, cancer has topped the list of leading causes of death among people aged under 55 in Germany, while in the U.S. it is overdoses resulting from abuse of opioid painkillers. Over the past two decades, their use has become an epidemic; an addiction wave that claims more victims every year. For example, in 2019 alone, approximately 70,260 people in the U.S. died as a result of opioid overdoses, two-thirds of which were from prescription drugs.
The best-known active ingredient – and “kickstarter” of the crisis – is oxycodone, marketed under the trade name Oxycontin by the company Purdue Pharma. Although Purdue was not the only manufacturer of opioid painkillers, the company played a significant role in the emergence of the opioid crisis due to its particularly aggressive marketing strategy and lobbying. The promise of “quick and easy pain relief” thus turned into one of the biggest health crises in the USA, with some 450,000 deaths to date.
When good advice is expensive – Purdue, McKinsey and the opioid crisis in the U.S. weiterlesen
