The following quote is attributed to Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D
“The opioid crisis continues to be a national public health emergency with devastating and far-reaching consequences extending into nearly every community.
A key component of the FDA’s multipronged response is reducing the quantity of opioids entering the country outside of the legitimate supply chain, including through illegal online sales. the foremost recent Online Opioid Summit was a part of the agency’s continued efforts to seek out and implement innovative solutions to stop the illegal sale of opioids through internet platforms and services.
Given the complexity of the difficulty , it’s imperative that we include stakeholders from a spread of sectors within the conversation. These summits provide stakeholders a singular opportunity to collaborate, leverage expertise and explore meaningful ways to assist reduce the supply of opioids online.
Responding to the present crisis remains a top priority for the FDA and that we will maintain our specialise in examining and responding to all or any facets of opioid abuse, misuse, addiction, overdose and death within the U.S.”
Additional Information
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hosted its third Online Opioid Summit, “Reducing the supply of Opioids Online,” on Sept. 9, 2021, as a part of the agency’s efforts to deal with the illegal availability of opioids online.
The Summit attendees included internet stakeholders, government entities, academia, and other important partners within the web ecosystem.
Discussions during the virtual meeting addressed topics including the evolving landscape of online opioid purchasing, like younger and more vulnerable populations being exposed to those dangerous opioids through social media and other online platforms; ways to reinforce cross-industry and global collaboration; successes and novel solutions implemented since prior summits; and new ways to still prevent the illegal sale of opioids through internet platforms and services.
Despite the tremendous health risks related to opioids illegally being sold online and therefore the successes we’ve seen to limit online opioid distribution, we still see websites and other online platforms that make it far too easy for U.S. consumers to get these dangerous products. This includes substances with abuse potential aside from opioids like benzodiazepines and stimulants that are sold illegally online.
The FDA is committed to addressing the national crisis of opioid abuse, misuse, addiction, and overdose on all fronts, with a big specialise in decreasing exposure to opioids and preventing new addiction; supporting the treatment of these with opioid use disorder; fostering the event of novel pain treatment therapies; and taking action against those involved within the illegal importation and sale of unapproved and misbranded opioids.
Opioid addiction and abuse is an immense public health crisis and addressing it’s one among the FDA’s highest priorities. In 2019, a mean of 38 people died every day from overdoses involving prescription opioids, totaling quite 14,000 deaths. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the amount of overdose deaths rose to 93,331 within the 12-month period ending in December 2020. This number is that the highest ever recorded for overdose deaths during a 12-month period. Opioids were involved in approximately 75% of those deaths. Despite the tremendous health risks related to opioids illegally being sold online and therefore the successes we’ve seen to limit online opioid distribution, we still see websites and online platforms that make it far too easy for U.S. consumers to get these dangerous products.
One critical step to deal with this public health emergency is that the adoption of a much more proactive approach by internet stakeholders to clamp down on internet traffic in illicit drugs. Illegal online pharmacies, drug dealers, and other criminals are increasingly using the web to further their illicit distribution of opioids, where their risk of detection and repercussions is significantly reduced.
Given the severity of the general public health emergency we face , in June 2018, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., invited internet stakeholders, government entities, academic researchers, and advocacy groups to attend the primary Online Opioid Summit to debate ways to collaboratively take stronger action in combatting the opioid crisis by reducing the supply of illicit opioids online.
Online Opioids Summit 2021
FDA virtually hosted its third summit on September 9, 2021, to still enhance collaboration to maximise the scope of our efforts to deal with the illegal availability of opioids online. the main target of the summit was enhancing collaboration with internet stakeholders, government entities, academia, and other important partners. Discussions at the summit highlighted successes since previous summits and discussed new ways to still combat the web component of the opioid crisis. This meeting was a executive session .
Source link: https://www.fda.gov/
