Almost half of Americans know an opioid addict

Key findings from the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll:

Cancer tops the public’s list of extremely serious health problems inRea the U.S., followed by contaminated drinking water, heroin abuse, two topics that have garnered media attention recently.
Although heroin technically falls into the same opioid family as prescription painkillers, Americans perceptions of the seriousness of addiction to these two drugs as well as the discrimination faced by those who use them are different.
Forty-four percent say they personally know someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers; a majority of Americans say that lack of access to care for people with substance abuse issues is a problem.