People tell their doctors about family history of cancer, heart disease and other common conditions that have a genetic link.
But when Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester’s commissioner of health and human services, asked seven city firefighters attending a training on opioid addiction Tuesday whether any of their relatives had an addiction, none raised his hand. Yet there’s a 50 percent chance that risk of addiction can be passed on, according to national research.
“That’s part of the stigma of it,” Dr. Castiel said.
The training, “Addiction – It’s not a Choice, It’s a Disease,” was designed to give firefighters more insight to a problem they deal with nearly every day as first responders to emergency medical calls in the city.