Rising in deaths due to drug overdose, experts recommend observing signs of addiction.

Drug addiction can be a hard fact to face and accept, but it's an ongoing problem that needs dire attention.

A new report published in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association shows that drug overdose deaths were on the rise for the 11th straight year. There were a total of 38,329 drug overdose deaths in 2010 according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention -- and 60 percent were due to medications, the majority of which were prescription drugs. 

Prescription medicine / iStockphoto

• Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year

Opiod drugs, which include OxyContin and Vicodin, were the most frequently involved, accounting for three out of four medication overdose deaths. Only 17 percent of the deaths were suicides, meaning the vast majority were unintentional overdoses.

"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press.

The first step though is recognizing or helping others recognize that they need help. Some signs that a loved one or a friend might need help include seeing behavioral changes that seem out of the ordinary. 

Family members may notice a person's mood swings, altered sleep habits, bizarre behavior including lying and stealing, changes in friends or social groups and unexpected weight loss, Dr. Greg Johnson, a staff physician at Origins Recovery Centers in South Padre Island, Texas, said to CBSNews.com.

For co-workers, this could mean noticing they are becoming less reliable, coming later to work, missing deadlines, isolating themselves in their offices and having more unexcused absences or more absences attributed to illness, Dr. David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers, told CBSNews.

They may also have more financial problems like borrowing against their 401Ks or taking money out of their savings. Frequent medical visits for panic attacks or chest palpitations can also be a sign. 

Both experts have noticed that younger addicts are seeking treatment -- and believe prescription drugs may be to blame. More adults are on prescription drugs, giving a larger population of children access to them, Johnson pointed out. While alcohol and marijuana still remain "gateway" drugs, he said, young people have easier access to prescription pills from their parent's cabinets. Some start while they are just in middle school.