[ti:More Americans Died From Drugs Than Ever Before+++越来越多美国人死于毒品] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.16]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.60]this is the Health & Lifestyle Report. [00:06.44]In 2016, more than 60,000 people died in the United States because of drugs. [00:15.80]That is the highest number of drug deaths and the fastest yearly increase in recorded history. [00:24.72]Early data suggests that deaths from opioids and other drugs [00:30.36]will continue to rise in 2017. [00:34.60]Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death [00:38.20]for Americans under the age of 50. [00:42.36]U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made this statement in June 2017 [00:50.34]at a news conference with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials. [00:56.40]Rosenstein called it a "horrifying surge in drug overdoses." [01:02.36]He added that drug abuse is wrecking families and communities throughout the U.S. [01:10.44]More than two million Americans have some sort of physical dependence on opioids. [01:18.48]Opioids are a type of painkiller that are legally prescribed to many people. [01:25.52]Opioids are addictive if people take too much of them [01:29.76]or take them for a long period of time. [01:34.24]However, there is a new and even more dangerous part of the opioid crisis [01:40.40]and it is happening much more often. [01:44.64]This is the making and selling of extremely strong, [01:49.16]illegal types of drugs that copy ones that already exist. [01:55.88]One such drug is fentanyl. [01:59.64]Fentanyl is so strong that even the smallest amounts [02:04.12]— as little as two or three grains — can kill. [02:08.39]Police officers and other first responders who try to help drug overdose victims [02:15.24]are often affected by the drug themselves. [02:19.72]DEA does not yet have data on this part the problem. [02:24.92]However, officials say there is a clear increase in cases where first responders [02:31.00]have become ill while handling evidence or helping overdose drug victims. [02:39.12]Chuck Rosenberg is a high-level official at the DEA. [02:44.52]He has warned emergency responders to take great care in drug-overdose cases. [02:52.00]He advises them to wear protective gear such as masks and gloves. [02:58.84]Even dogs trained to find illegal drugs are at risk. [03:04.32]Their handlers have begun carrying antidotes [03:07.88]for both the animals and themselves. [03:12.52]However, these new synthetic drugs are so powerful [03:17.20]that many doses of antidotes are sometimes needed to save the rescuers. [03:24.24]Rosenberg summed up DEA advice to emergency teams at an overdose scene: [03:31.28]"If you don't know what it is, [03:33.80]assume there's something in it that will kill you.'' [03:39.08]The extremely fast rise in opioid problems is also happening in Europe. [03:46.00]The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported in June 2017 [03:52.87]that dangerous synthetic drugs similar to heroin and morphine [03:58.24]are a growing health threat in the European Union. [04:03.40]Experts at the center say on its website [04:06.44]that more than 8,000 people died from overdose in the EU in 2015. [04:14.12]This is the third year in a row that the number of overdoses has increased in the EU. [04:21.68]And the center warns that drug-related deaths in Europe could be much higher. [04:28.60]For this, it blames delayed reporting [04:32.88]and "under-reporting in some countries." [04:36.80]And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. [04:39.48]I'm Anna Matteo. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM