The disease of addiction knows no boundaries when it comes to who it affects. Addiction can plague the lives of just about anyone regardless of age, race, sex, financial status, career, and so on. Take celebrities for example. Various celebrities, despite their fortune and fame, have succumbed to the disease of addiction and unfortunately, some have lost their lives. Today we will take a look and honor five such celebrities that lost their lives due to such.
It isn’t much of a secret that various celebrities in the past and present struggle with addiction. In fact, many celebrities, including entertainers, singers and actors, have lost their lives to drug addiction. Addiction can affect just about anyone, as it shows no favoritism based upon success, income, or personality. The disease of addiction is cunning and baffling and can have significant negative effects on most anyone.
The following are five celebrities who have lost their lives as a result of drug addiction. This list of mostly young and talented people should serve as a wakeup call to anybody suffering from or with a friend or relative suffering from addiction.
Celebrities Lost to Addiction
Whitney Houston
Whitney was highly regarded as a singer and she was also beautiful and quite talented. She suffered a well-known addiction to prescription pills and crack cocaine. On February 11, 2011, she was found lifeless submerged in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room’s bathtub. The coroner later ruled the cause of her death to be accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and atherosclerotic heart disease. Toxicological tests found extra drugs in her system, including xanax, flexiril and marijuana.
Michael Jackson
While in the final preparation stages for his ‘This is it’ concert series, Michael Jackson died after suffering a cardiac arrest due to acute benzodiazepine and propofol intoxication. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, attempted to resuscitate him, but he was not successful. Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department continued with resuscitation efforts on the way to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, however, he did not resume breathing and was pronounced dead at about 2:26.
Amy Winehouse
On July 23, 2011, two ambulances responded to a call by Amy’s bodyguard in her London home. She was pronounced dead by the medics at the scene. Forensic investigators recovered two large and a small bottle of vodka in her room. The coroner’s report indicated that she had a blood alcohol level that was over five times the permitted drink and drive limit. The unintended results of such deadly levels was the reason for her death.
Cory Montieth
Although he charmed audiences with his powerful singing voice and effortless screen presence, Cory had an underlying addiction problem that few people knew of. Many people were shocked to hear about his death from a drug overdose in July 2013. He was but a mere age 31. Despite his squeaky clean image, he had been battling substance addiction for a very long time.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman was found lifeless in his apartment on February 2nd, 2014. Although he seemed to have his drug problems under control, he still used drugs occasionally. Investigators found prescription medication and heroin at the scene of his death. The medical examiner stated his cause of death to be an acute drug intoxication as a result of mixing benzodiazepines, heroin, cocaine and amphetamine.
An Avoidable Tragedy
As you can see, alcohol and drug addiction can be quite dangerous and fatal. It is a shame that such a disease takes lives tragically, leaving family and friends to grieve their deaths. The rate of addiction is quite high and law enforcement officials and substance abuse professionals team up doing their best to curb the number of people addicted to drugs.
Get Help Today
If you are struggling with an addiction to alcohol or drugs, please reach out for help via a rehab center, 12 Step group, or counseling professional. There is help available and you do not have to struggle with addiction any longer. There is a beautiful life on the other side of addiction waiting for you. Take your first step toward that life today by reaching out for help.