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# Opioid painkiller prescribing varies widely among states
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/opioid_painkiller_0702141211/
- Published: 2014-07-02T13:08:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T14:16:48.000Z
- Description: U.S. providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012, and Alabama's rate ran nearly three times Hawaii's, a CDC Vital Signs report found. Most of the highest-prescribing states were in the South, and overdose rates track prescribing.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Drug, Health News, #vivvo-import

**Opioid painkiller prescribing varies widely among states**

*Where you live makes a difference*

Health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012 – many more in some states than in others – according to a [Vital Signs](http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns?ref=foodconsumer.org) report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that highlights the danger of overdose. The report also has an example of a state that reversed its overdose trend.

Health care providers in the highest prescribing state, Alabama, wrote almost three times as many of these prescriptions per person as those in the lowest prescribing state, Hawaii. Most of the highest prescribing states were in the South. Previous research has shown that regional variation in use of prescriptions cannot be explained by the underlying health status of the population.

“Prescription drug overdose is epidemic in the United States. All too often, and in far too many communities, the treatment is becoming the problem,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.“Overdose rates are higher where these drugs are prescribed more frequently. States and practices where prescribing rates are highest need to take a particularly hard look at ways to reduce the inappropriate prescription of these dangerous drugs.”

For this Vital Signs report, CDC analyzed 2012 prescribing data collected from retail pharmacies in the United States by a commercial vendor. CDC calculated prescribing rates by state for various types of opioid painkillers.

CDC's Injury Center works to protect the safety of everyone, every day. For more information about prescription drug overdoses, please visit [www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/overdose](http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/overdose?ref=foodconsumer.org).