Surgeon General Report Calls for Increasing Access to Addiction Treatment

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a report Thursday that calls for increasing access to addiction treatment. According to Reuters, the report calls drug and alcohol addiction a public health crisis.

“The most important thing is, we have to change attitudes towards addiction and get people into treatment,” Murthy told Reuters. “Addiction is a disease of the brain, not a character flaw.”

The report notes that every dollar invested in treatment saves $4 in healthcare costs and lost productivity, as well as $7 in criminal justice costs.

Murthy called for intervening through school programs to discourage early access to alcohol. He noted that people who have their first drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop an alcohol problem than those who first try alcohol after age 21.