Prescription pain killer deaths up

Deaths from prescription pain killer drugs spiraled upward during the decade ending 2008.  A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) At an estimated 14,800 deaths, the 2008 toll was over three times the 4,000 deaths reported in 1999. According to a press report, the total deaths for both prescription and illegal drugs during 2008 was 36,450; a total close to the 39,973 victims of motor vehicle fatalities for the same period.