In recent times, there has been a troubling increase in overdose deaths among adolescents. With counterfeit prescription pills to blame, neither families nor teenagers are aware of the risks they pose. Overdose cases have been reported the most among adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age, driven by fentanyl in counterfeit pills. One such case struck a New York family after they lost their daughter in 2022. According to a Fox News report, Paige Gibbons, a 19-year-old freshman at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, died after taking a pill to relieve pain.
On November 20, 2022, Paige was at her friend’s house when they decided to take Percocet for pain relief; however, little did they know that it was not a Percocet but 100 per cent fentanyl. “She was at a friend’s house, the parents were home, and she and her friend were going to take a Percocet, which she thought was a Percocet. Unbeknownst to them, it was not a Percocet, it was 100% fentanyl,” said her father, David Gibbons of Pittsford, New York.
David Gibbons recalled the tragic day when he and his wife received the news of their daughter’s overdose from the cops. “It was the loudest yell I’d heard in my life. I thought it was an intruder or something, because why was she screaming?” he shared while recalling his wife’s reaction. According to reports, the 19-year-old was with two of her friends at that time. While Paige succumbed to overdosing, another of her friends “almost died,” while the other one refused to take the pill. They reportedly purchased the pills over social media with seemingly no knowledge about their effects.
“It caused havoc in our lives. The milestones I was hoping to have—a first grandchild, going to a wedding, her graduating from college, her helping other people—none of these things are going to happen with Paige,” her father says. Paige, who wanted to become a doctor, had her dreams tragically cut short, leaving her family in a state of grief.
Another similar incident was reported in September last year, when a 13-year-old died due to an accidental fentanyl overdose in Texas, US. The teenager reportedly took aspirin for a fever and stomach ache before going to sleep. However, he was later found unresponsive on the bed.
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