Google, Facebook and Twitter have partnered with the nonprofit Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) to launch Tech Together (TechTogether.co), an online platform to offer support to individuals with substance use disorders. The site is a collection of resources to help those experiencing substance use disorder or battling addiction and the associated stigma.
The COVID-19 pandemic is motivating some tobacco-users to quit amid concerns that they may be at higher risk of getting sick from the virus. Since this is also a time of heightened stress and anxiety, some may also have concerns that this could be an especially hard time to quit.
Here are some important things to know about quitting during times of stress.
More than 2 million Americans struggle with opioid use disorder, and about 130 Americans on average die every day from an opioid overdose. Opioids account for a majority of drug overdose deaths, the leading cause of accidental death in the US. It's a crisis that's been a priority for officials at the federal, state and local levels for years.
Now, the coronavirus has disrupted all matters of life across the country -- including efforts to combat the nation's opioid problem.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, public-health experts were concerned about an epidemic of loneliness in the U.S. The coronavirus has exacerbated that problem, with most face-to-face socializing for people still under lockdown orders indefinitely limited to members of their own households.
For the 35.7 million Americans who live alone, that means no meaningful social contact at all, potentially for months on end.
