The AP (5/15, Stobbe ) reports, “The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday.” If these figures are finalized, this “would be only the second annual decline since the current national drug death epidemic began more than three decades ago.” Around “107,500 people died of overdoses in the U.S. last year…the CDC estimated,” a decrease of “3% from 2022, when there were an estimated 111,000 such deaths, the agency said.”
The New York Times (5/15, Hoffman ) reports this is “the first decrease in five years.” This “was attributable mostly to a drop in deaths from synthetic opioids, chiefly fentanyl, said researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics, who compiled the numbers.” However, “the full portrait of the death toll from street drugs remains grim. Even as opioid deaths fell, deaths from stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine rose.” Overall, “opioid deaths fell 3.7 percent while deaths from cocaine rose 5 percent and deaths from meth rose 2 percent.”
The Washington Post (5/15, Ovalle ) reports, “Overdose deaths have surpassed 100,000 for the third straight year…a reminder that the nation remains mired in an intractable epidemic fueled by the potent street drug fentanyl.” Despite the decrease in deaths, “experts cautioned that the numbers could rise in ensuing years and that the toll remains unacceptably high.”
Reuters (5/15, Jain) reports, “States including Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Maine saw declines of 15% or more in such deaths, mostly from opioids, while Alaska, Washington and Oregon reported notable increases of at least 27% compared to 2022, the data showed.”
Related Links:
— “Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious,”Mike Stobbe, AP, May 15, 2024