Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic

by Harry Wiland, Lewis S. Nelson, Andrew Kolodny

The Opioid Epidemic is the worst man-made epidemic in the history of our nation. More people die each year from an opioid overdose than in automobile accidents. The statistics are staggering. 'DO NO HARM' spotlights experts, journalists, and public health crusaders who are combating the special interests of Big Pharma and informing the world on how an aggressive pharmaceutical mass marketing campaign for the new drug OxyContin misled doctors and the public into our current crisis of death and addiction.

Wiland highlights the stories of those hit hardest by prescription opioid addiction and overdose death, and sheds light on how whole communities have been ravaged by the spread of addiction. Despite regional health experts, local government, law enforcement, journalists, and the DEA's efforts to combat the epidemic, people continue to die at an alarming rate from prescription drug overdoses.

The chapters of this book chronicle this epidemic in all its complexity from many perspective including the plight of the millions of Americans who suffer from opioid addiction. People, young and old on the rocky road to recovery, tell their harrowing stories, current victories and on-going struggles with the disease.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Medical, Social Issues

335 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2020

Reviews

[Alexis Waslowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio. Overall book was very repetitive repeating the same information chapter after chapter. Would probably have been more interesting to someone who did not have prior knowledge about the opioid crisis in America.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I was somewhat ignorant about the opioid epidemic and this short book details the issue sufficiently and gives you a healthy hate, once again, for the American health care system.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely repetitive, many chapters repeated the same information as previous chapters over and over again. Otherwise a decent overview of the opioid crisis. Could have been more concise though. Definitely felt padded with repetitive information.

[Mabel Borst · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good scientific book, all the sources are stated. However a lot of the statements are made multiple times throughout the whole book using different phrasing. Make me sad for America🙃

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic by Harry Wiland, with Peter Segall, is a very highly recommended look at the opioid crisis, expanding on the information from the National Public Television series.

The three part mini-series Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic presented by author and director, Harry Wiland covered the history and the truth behind the opioid epidemic. "The goal of Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic media project is to save lives through prevention and greater education about the scourge of opioid addiction. This book includes longer passages from the many in-depth interviews in the series and digs deeper into the issues of addiction and its treatment. Over a hundred key individuals appeared in the series, so this book was always planned as part of the full media coverage along with the documentary to fully present all the information.

America's opioid crisis is an on-going public epidemic brought on by Big Pharma’s advertising ploys and misinformation, the medical community's inattentiveness over prescribing opioid painkillers, and a lack of policies and oversight restricting the prescription of these highly addictive drugs. This is, as has been repeatedly said, "the worst man-made drug epidemic in the history of our nation." If you don't know several families affected by this epidemic, I would be , quite frankly shocked. It is prevalent across the country with some areas hit harder than others.

The information from this book and the documentary needs to be spread across the country.

"More people die each year from an opioid drug overdose than in automobile accidents. The statistics are staggering. Do No Harm spotlights experts, journalists, and public health crusaders who are combating the special interests of Big Pharma and informing the world on how an aggressive pharmaceutical mass marketing campaign for the new drug OxyContin misled doctors and the public into our current crisis of death and addiction."

"Wiland highlights the stories of those hit hardest by prescription opioid addiction and overdose death, and sheds light on how whole communities have been ravaged by the spread of addiction. Despite regional health experts, local government, law enforcement, journalists, and the DEA’s efforts to combat the epidemic, people continue to die at an alarming rate from prescription drug overdoses. The chapters of this book chronicle this opioid epidemic in all its complexity from many perspectives including the plight of the millions of Americans who suffer from opioid addiction. People, young and old on the rocky road to recovery, tell their harrowing stories, current victories, and on-going struggles with the disease."

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Turner Publishing.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...

[J]

Interesting, important, and informative. I really liked that the author presented actual solutions to the issues discussed rather than just presenting a history of opioid addiction in America. This isn't just a book, it's a call to action and a condemnation of the industry that allowed this epidemic to happen.

Chapter 3 was the most interesting to me. It talks about chronic pain, how doctors treat chronic pain, and the desire for "quick fixes."

"Are we taking more antidepressants now because we are in fact more depressed and because medical science now understands mental health better than ever? Or because our culture of instant gratification tells us we don't have to feel anything negative and, if we do, something is wrong with us. And if there is something wrong with us, our advanced society must be able to provide us with an easy solution."

It opened my eyes to the extent of the problem. I live in Kentucky. Obviously, I've read the news stories and I've seen the pushes to end the epidemic here but I don't think I realized the extent of the problem. I knew that a lot of addicts become addicted as a result of prescription pills. I did not know the extent of the lies that led to the prevalence of opioid prescriptions or how long this has been an issue. I never even considered how deeply we have all been exploited by the industry.

[RebeccaReviewedIt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think we’ve all heard about the opioid epidemic, but this book really dives into different events that got the ball rolling on opioid prescribing. It takes you through how opioids went from being used for palliative care to being a commonly prescribed pain medication. I enjoyed the different looks at how to fight the opioid crisis, and I’m glad we’re focusing more on treatment than criminalizing those that are addicted. Some nonfiction books seem dry and boring, but this one really held my attention all the way through. I somehow missed the miniseries by the same name, but I recently watched The Pharmacist on Netflix. Much of what the pharmacist talks about in the Netflix series corresponds with the same messages in this book. As with any book you read, you need to do your own research before blindly believing everything that’s written as true. This book has a quite lengthy endnote list so you can do research of your own, however, I noticed that one of the quotes in the book appears both in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, yet credits different doctors having said the quote. Overall, it was a fascinating read, and definitely a great book to read if you’re interested in learning more about the opioid crisis. I’m thankful for @turnerpub for sending me my copy, and now I might need to jump into the miniseries! #bookstagram #RebeccaReviewedIt

[Luke Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads more like a series of essays more than one cohesive book. It really lacks a personal touch as it only really relates the opiod of addiction of two young women. One I recall is 14 when she starts using, the other at 21. I don't know for sure but they both sounded pretty white to me, but that may be incorrect. I think the book would of been much better had it told the stories of more people from different nationalities, ages, economic backgrounds, races, etc.

What the book does right is show us the systemic racism that is built into our laws and the ways in which they are enforced. The author makes a point, several times, to explain that they way we tried to fight the War on Drugs was to lock up as many drug users and dealers as possible. Since those individuals were mostly Black this policy was widely accepted. Spoiler alert: we lost the war on drugs. But now that 130 people are dying everyday from opiod use, the majority of them White, now our policy is treatment because these people aren't criminals they're just sick with a terrible disease.

Enjoyable book, I definitely learned some things, but again, VERY repetitious and choppy and largely devoid of people we can relate to and feel empathy for.

[Taneka · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic follows author and director, Harry Wiland as he works to unearth the history and truth behind America's rampant opioid crises, and investigates how this crisis ballooned into an epidemic fueled by Big Pharma's ploys, the medical community's obliviousness, and policymakers lack of oversight"

It did not hold my attention as I wanted it to. It was recommended to me to read Pain Killer: A "Wonder" Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death. Hopefully that one will be a bit more insightful.

[Rabbit · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine! A decent and engaging enough overview. But, really, just read In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with OpioidsIn Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids.

[James Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had the potential to be a lot better to me, but unfortunately uses the crutch of partisan politics and cries of racism (since this crisis effects white people, we have developed much more humane treatment paths...) to pad its word count. It also loses focus in any narrative or focus it was trying to build by making every other chapter about those two items. The first half of the book, which focuses more on how opioids work, Purdue Pharma, the marketing tactics used by Big Pharma in selling opioids, and through the settlement with US AG in 2008 is interesting and compelling.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is true that this is incredibly repetitive. This is completely based on the documentary series of the same name and documentarians. I imagine it's much better as a documentary, but this was good enough since I don't have access to the documentary. I did learn a lot more than I previously knew about it from political, scientific, and social standpoints.

[Sharie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One part in particular missing for me...
There might be appropriate uses for opioid drugs. If so, doctors also need to know and be willing to work with patients to get off the drugs. To my understanding, no one is "responsible" for helping a legit user get off the drugs once they no longer need them.

[Vickie Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of numbers and statistics to take in that get a bit tedious to read but necessary to the book. But overall, this was very educational and informative for me. The history of how opioids came into "common" use and subsequently abuse, courtesy of the dishonesty and greed of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, is almost unbelievable.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like an “intro to the opioid crisis” for anyone who hasn’t read much about it. That being said, this book does put some important focus on why the opioid crisis is considered a public health issue vs. policing issue (answer: white people). I also appreciated the more science-focused chapters.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was good and very important, but they kept repeating their top 10 points, nearly word-for-word, up to 4-5 times. This book could be condensed by up to half its size due to this annoying redundancy.

[Kim Bauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would definitely recommend this book, however I’m going with 3 stars because I felt like it was too light in some spots and a bit repetitive. There were some things I wish the author would’ve delved deeper into. I’ll be reading more on this subject for sure

[Jennifer Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good and up-to-date explanation of the opioid crisis, with an emphasis on helping how to help the victims and where we go from here.

[Jeff Brimhall]

Audio Book

[Bjarne Skjødt Hjaltalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skræmmende læsning. Fire stjerner for emne og relevans - sproget kunne godt være mere medrivende.

[Rauko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive as all hell. I understood the basic concepts introduced in the first chapter perfectly well and didn't need have it beat into my skull 100 times over, thank you very much.

[Kathryn Buono · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was great the documentary was lack luster

[Brooklyn Hart ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was inevitable. Humans have sought relief since the dawn of time. What will the future really look like?

[emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟 this could have been at least 75% shorter if he didn’t repeat literally word for word the same point every chapter

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma profited off the death, misery, and crime of so many....they said Oxycontin wasn't addictive... It's amazing how money is a lubricant for corruption in the U.S., from senators to companies.

Now, they are filing bankruptcy to avoid paying for their mistakes.