美国国家公共电台 NPR--Counterfeit pills contribute to the fentanyl deaths of young people

Counterfeit¹ pills contribute to the fentanyl deaths of young people

Transcript²

Drug overdose deaths among teens and young adults have nearly doubled since 2019. There's concern that counterfeit pills, laced with fentanyl, sold via social media sites, are partly to blame.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Social media networks say they're cracking down on drug trafficking on their sites. As Martha Bebinger from member station WBUR reports, pills that look like prescription³ drugs but are actually laced with fentanyl are killing⁴ teens and young adults.

MARTHA BEBINGER, BYLINE⁵: On May 1, Sam Cioffi headed out to celebrate. He'd just set a record at Salem State University, outside Boston, for the most lacrosse goals scored in one season. The next morning, Sam was dead. Here's what his mother, Sally Cioffi, has pieced together.

SALLY CIOFFI: He went out to a bar. He's 22. And I guess he - on the way home in an Uber, he took what he thought was a Percocet.

BEBINGER: It wasn't. Cioffi says a toxicology report showed the pill her son swallowed was fentanyl. Cioffi traced the deadly fake pill purchase and Sam's recreational drug use through the Instagram and Snapchat messages Sam exchanged with a dealer⁶.

CIOFFI: He kind of, like, friended him. I mean, I think that's originally how these kids find drug dealers⁷ - is on social - Snapchat and Instagram.

BEBINGER: Where it can be hard to tell who you can trust, where a potentially lethal⁸ pill that looks like cold medicine, Adderall or Xanax is delivered after just a few taps on a screen. Cioffi says buying fake pills on social media is way too easy.

CIOFFI: These kids think they're invincible⁹. They're not. They need to know it's dangerous.

BEBINGER: Opioid-related deaths have nearly doubled for 15- to 24-year-olds since 2015. National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkov says many teens and young adults are used to taking prescription pills and assume they're safe.

NORA VOLKOV: And that's where the illicit¹⁰ pills come into the fore¹¹ because they are being disguised as these drugs, but they are basically fentanyl.

BEBINGER: Warnings about these fake pills, sometimes called fentapills, are starting to spread on middle, high school and college campuses, using the DEA's One Pill Can Kill campaign.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl are deadly. Be their protector. Be informed.

BEBINGER: The DEA says 4 of every 10 pills it tests include a lethal dose of fentanyl. Fake Percocet, like the pill Sam Cioffi took, is the most common. But the agency is seeing an influx¹² of fentanyl made to look like the ADHD medication Adderall, produced by Mexican drug cartels. Jon DeLena is second in command for the DEA in New England.

JON DELENA: We know in this country who the major consumer of Adderall is, what the age groups are. That's an insidious¹³ move on behalf of those two deadly cartels to do that. They're trying to create as many different pills as they can to attract as many users as they can.

BEBINGER: DeLena says the DEA is tackling the cartels and supply coming into the country. He says social media networks need to step up warnings to users and block more sales.

DELENA: If you have a smartphone and a social media account, a drug trafficker can find you. These companies in general need to do more.

BEBINGER: Snapchat and Meta, the parent company of Instagram, said they are doing more. They say improved algorithms are helping¹⁴ them catch 90% or more of the drug activity and shut down dealers. They redirect users who search for drugs or related emojis to pieces about fentanyl-laced pills. A spokesperson for Snap, which owns Snapchat, says the company is, quote, "bringing every resource to bear to keep fighting this epidemic¹⁵." Some parents are suing Snapchat. Ed Ternan decided¹⁶ to work with Snapchat instead. He's on the company's Safety Advisory¹⁷ Board and tries to bring social media companies, drug investigators¹⁸ and others together.

ED TERNAN: This is going to get worse unless we all find ways to cooperate and stop pointing fingers and blaming.

BEBINGER: In the meantime, here's some guidance from parents. Spread the warning about fake, fentanyl-laced pills and consider carrying Narcan, the nasal spray that can revive someone if needed. For NPR News, I'm Martha Bebinger in Boston.

1 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

7 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

8 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

9 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

10 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

11 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

12 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

13 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

18 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》