Deadly Painkiller Overdoses Affecting More Women

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And let's look now at some disturbing health news. At study out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows women are dying from overdoses of prescription painkillers at a much higher rate than men. Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women overdosing. NPR's Patti Neighmond reports.

PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE: CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters women are dying of overdoses at rates never seen before.

TOM FRIEDEN: Prescription painkiller deaths have skyrocketed in women.