A STAT-Harvard poll surveyed Americans about their views concerning the CDC’s latest recommendations.
Here are five points:
1. Twenty-three percent said they were very concerned the guidelines will make it difficult for people to obtain pain medication for medical reasons, compared to those who are somewhat concerned (32 percent), not too concerned (26 percent), not at all concerned (16 percent) and didn’t know/refused to answer (3 percent).
2. Of those polled, 70 percent primarily supported two CDC recommendations — advising physicians to prescribe patients no more than a three-day supply of opioid painkillers to treat most cases of acute pain and trying other treatment options before prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
3. When polled about who was mainly responsible for the opioid epidemic, 37 cited the users of pills and 34 percent blamed physicians for inappropriately prescribing the medications.
4. Ten percent blamed pharmaceutical companies or the FDA (7 percent) for the opioid epidemic.
5. The majority of respondents (84 percent) said people caught with small amounts of painkillers they obtained without prescriptions should go to treatment programs, rather than jail.
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