According to a survey of coroners and medical examiners, OxyContin has caused or contributed to at least 92 deaths during 2001 in the eight county Philadelphia region, up from 2000.

In South Jersey, fatalities increased from 15 in 2000, to 24 in 2001 across Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.

The supply of OxyContin is soaring. Sales of OxyContin, first marketed in 1996, hit $1.2 billion last year.

The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration announced in April that OxyContin may have played a role in 464 deaths across the Country in 2000 to 2001.

According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) Drug Abuse Warning Network, Emergency room mentions of OxyCodone increased 89% between 1993 and 1999. Recently we have seen an increase of 68% with 10,825 emergency room mentions in 2000.

The illegal use of OxyContin, as well as other prescription drugs, has increased recently the 1999 NHSDA showed that approximately 9% of the U.S. population (19.9 million people) have used pain relievers illegally in their lifetime. An estimated 1.6 million Americans have used prescription type pain relievers non-medically for the first time in 1998. This represents a significant increase since the 1980's.

Indicators used to produce the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) study show that the abuse of OxyCondone, the active ingredient in the pain medication OxyContin has increased greatly in recent years. The numbers of Oxycodone emergency department mentions increased from 3,369 in the first half of 1999 to 5,261 in the first half of 2000. The total number of emergency department mentions from oxycodone in 1999 (6,429) was up from 3,190 mentions in 1996.

The DAWN study also measures reports of drug related deaths from 139 medical examiners in 40 metropolitan areas. in 1999 there were 262 mentions of oxycodone related deaths, up from 49 mentions in 1996.

Law enforcement sources have reported an increase in the diversion of OxyContin and other medication containing oxycodone. This increase in illegal use has been especially apparent on the East Coast. The increase in the abuse of OxyContin has lead to an increased number of pharmacy robberies and health care fraud incidents.