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Exploiting a quasi\u2010experiment in overseas deployment assignment, this study estimates the causal impact of combat exposure among the deployed in the Global War on Terrorism on opioid abuse. We find that exposure to war theater substantially increased the risk of prescription painkiller abuse and illicit heroin use among active duty servicemen. The magnitudes of our estimates imply lower\u2010bound combat exposure\u2010induced healthcare costs of $1.04 billion per year for prescription painkiller abuse and $470 million per year for heroin use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/hec.4812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,1]],"date-time":"2024-03-01T04:18:46Z","timestamp":1709266726000},"page":"1284-1318","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The effect of combat deployments on veteran opioid abuse"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"33","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2230-1053","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Resul","family":"Cesur","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Finance Department University of Connecticut NBER &amp; IZA Storrs Connecticut USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9319-5211","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joseph J.","family":"Sabia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Health Economics &amp; Policy Studies San Diego State University and IZA San Diego California USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"W. 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