Conference highlights drug abuse epidemic's effects on kids

CINCINNATI (AP) — The country's addictions epidemic has created a generation of children affected by their parents' problems, a doctor who works with infants born addicted to heroin told a gathering of experts struggling with the issue Tuesday.

The effect includes the physical problems of the addicted newborns and the chaos older children experience as a result of their parents addictions, said Dr. Kathy Wedig, a neonatologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says opioid overdose deaths, including addictive painkillers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with a 14 percent increase in just one year.