Opioid poisoning on the rise

Researchers at ETH have shown that cases of opioid poisoning and the prescription of opioids have increased sharply in Switzerland over the past 20 years. Although the situation is not as serious as in North America, the risk should not be underestimated. Since the early 2000-s the US has been in the grip of an opioid crisis that has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic - in 2021, more than 100,000 people died of an opioid overdose in the country. There are increasing signs that the same crisis is taking hold in Europe. Initial studies from the Netherlands and Denmark have drawn attention to the rise in the use of the strong opioid oxycodone. This substance, originally sold under the name OxyContin, was the major driver of the opioid crisis in the USA. However, hardly any figures are available on the use of opioids in Switzerland in recent years - particularly related to the potential harm.