U.S. Surgeon General Tells Dartmouth-Hitchcock forum stigma and ignorance are biggest killers in opioid crisis

U.S. Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome Adams, MD, spoke to an audience of health care providers, community activists, elected officials, parents and families at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s forum “Our Children, Our Families, Our Future.” (COURTESY PHOTO)

CONCORD — U.S. Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, told participants in the forum, "Our Families, Our Children, Our Future," that "drug addiction is a chronic disease and not a moral failing."

Dr. Adams, an anesthesiologist, told the forum that stigma and ignorance are the greatest killers of the opioid epidemic. He spoke of the pain of having his youngest brother serving a prison sentence for crimes committed to support his addiction. Nearly every family is affected by addiction or mental illness.

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