Apr. 29--Prescription drugs are still killing more Utahns than car accidents on state highways.
While traffic deaths decreased last year, drug deaths increased, the Utah Department of Health said Wednesday.
The state found 310 people who died of a prescription drug overdose in 2009, up from 277 people in 2008. The Utah Highway Patrol recorded 245 traffic fatalities in 2009.
The Health Department had hoped its awareness campaign, "Use Only as Directed," would reduce fatalities. The department's director, David Sundwall, admitted Wednesday he was disheartened by the statistics.
"We have a serious problem in this state, and in order to stop these unnecessary deaths we need to have a sustained effort to educate providers, patients and the general public about the potential harm associated with these drugs," Sundwall said in a news release. "In fact, I rank this near the top of public health priorities in Utah."
The Health Department said about 90 percent of the 2009 deaths involved an opioid, which have legitimate uses as pain relievers but are heavily abused prescription drugs.
The number of deaths decreased in 2008 compared with a year earlier. Prescription drug deaths have increased 400 percent since 2000, according to the Department of Health.
ncarlisle@sltrib.com
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