Updating our language around substance use disorders

Updating our language around substance use disorders

We thank Drs. Kumar and Rosenberg for enhancing care providers' knowledge of treatments for opioid abuse and its consequences. However, we need to be more precise in how we talk about the opioid crisis. Using the term poisoning instead of overdose would better reflect clinical reality and also...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) Vol. 189; no. 50; p. E1566
Main Authors: Xie, Edward, Green, Samantha, Puri, Nitasha, Sheikh, Hasan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Canada Joule Inc 18-12-2017
CMA Impact, Inc
Subjects:
Addictions
Alcohol
Drug addiction
Drug dosages
Humans
Illnesses
Language
Letters
Naloxone
Narcotics
Poisoning
Substance use disorder
Substance-Related Disorders
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Summary:We thank Drs. Kumar and Rosenberg for enhancing care providers' knowledge of treatments for opioid abuse and its consequences. However, we need to be more precise in how we talk about the opioid crisis. Using the term poisoning instead of overdose would better reflect clinical reality and also change our subconscious thinking patterns to reduce the stigma faced by patients. We ought to be consistent and accurate in our portrayal of medical conditions, as it affects public attitudes and support for health policies. In the context of opioid abuse, we've heard many misconceptions about drug use and addictions, such as the idea that supervised injection sites promote substance abuse.
Bibliography:SourceType-Other Sources-1
content type line 63
ObjectType-Correspondence-1
ObjectType-Commentary-2
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.733490