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The chief of the best public health agency in the United States says that the opioid epidemic will be one of his priorities, and he revealed a personal reason: His son almost died of cocaine contaminated with the powerful badgesic fentanyl. "For me, it's personal, I've almost lost one of my children," said Dr. Robert Redfield Jr. at the National Association of Health Officials' Annual Conference in the United States. counties and cities
. his speech, which he had delivered Thursday in New Orleans. Redfield declined to talk about it Monday except to say in a statement: "It's important for society to embrace and support families who are fighting to win the battle for addiction – because stigma is the enemy of public health. "
his youngest son speaking about his priorities for US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he started as a director in March. He first listed the opioid crisis as "the public health crisis of our time."
The public records show that the son, a 37-year-old musician, was charged with possession of drugs in 2016 in Maryland. The result of the case is not available in the public archives.
Umair Shah, Head of the Houston County Department of Health, Applauded the Franchise Moment of the CDC Director
"This was certainly an intimate moment that drew the attention of public health professionals "said Shah. L & # 39; Association.
About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to preliminary CDC numbers released last week. This represents a 10% increase over the previous year.
Most of the deaths involved opioids, which are at the root of the most lethal drug overdose epidemic in the history of the United States. A growing number of recent deaths have been attributed to fentanyl and fentanyl-related drugs, which are relatively inexpensive and which are sometimes cut by heroin, cocaine or other drug providers without the buyers know it
. in Canada, with nearly 4,000 apparent overdoses in 2017, compared to about 3,000 the previous year.
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