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get you episodes ad free now and forever. To learn more head to patreon.com slash, you are not so smart. Oh, Welcome to the You Are Not So Smart Podcast, episode 108. A few days ago, the President of the United States informally announced that there is an ongoing opioid epidemic in America, a public health emergency, a crisis, and the extent of the problem is immense.

The head of the Federal Opioid Commission, Chris Christie, said recently that 142 Americans die every day from an

opioid overdose. He likened it to the equivalent of the loss of life on 9-11, but every three weeks.

And that's been going on for a while.

I've been handed bottles of painkillers after dental work or a foot injury just like you I'm sure and some people

can take these even recreationally and you know they can they can somehow manage it but

so many people cannot and I personally I avoid them

Too many people I know or know of have been

Ruined by these drugs.

You know, we write prescriptions often for long-term use of drugs like oxycodone,

and that's done harm. I mean, I had knee microfracture surgery on my knee a number of years ago and I walked out with a several month

prescription for Oxycodone. I didn't I didn't take it. I probably could have sold it on the street for thousands of dollars. But I think I didn't take a single

capsule or a pill because it scared me. That's the voice of Dr. Paul Offit.

I'm a professor of pediatrics and the director of the vaccine education center

at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Paul Offett is one of the smartest and most influential doctors in the world.

He's been fighting anti-vaxers for years, while at the same time as a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases in

virology, he co-invented the rotovirus vaccine. He's published more than a

hundred papers, he's a member of the CDC. He advises politicians and other influential people.

He's also written several books,

...