In 2023, around 72,776 people in the United States died from a drug overdose that involved fentanyl. This was the second-highest number of fentanyl overdose deaths ever recorded in the United States, and a significant increase from the number of deaths reported in 2019. Fentanyl overdoses are now the driving force behind the opioid epidemic, accounting for the majority of overdose deaths in the United States. What is fentanyl? Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but more powerful. It is a prescription drug but is also manufactured illegally and is sometimes mixed with other illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine, often without the user’s knowledge. The potency of fentanyl makes it very addictive and puts users at a high risk for overdose. Illegally manufactured fentanyl has become more prevalent in the United States in recent years, leading to a huge increase in drug overdose deaths. In 2022, the rate of drug overdose death involving fentanyl was 22.7 per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of just one per 100,000 population in the year 2013. Fentanyl overdoses by gender and race/ethnicity As of 2022, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the United States is over two times higher among men than women. Rates of overdose death involving fentanyl were low for both men and women until around the year 2014 when they began to quickly increase, especially for men. In 2022, there were around 19,880 drug overdose deaths among women that involved fentanyl compared to 53,958 such deaths among men. At that time, the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths was highest among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives and lowest among non-Hispanic Asians. However, from the years 2014 to 2018, non-Hispanic whites had the highest fentanyl overdose death rates.

From 1999 to 2022, the number of drug overdose deaths among U.S. females increased from ***** in 1999 to ****** in 2022. Globally, drug use is a general problem. As of 2021, there were an estimated *** million global drug consumers and **** million drug addicts. Opioid use in the United States Among many demographics, drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States. Opioids are the most commonly reported substance in drug-related deaths. The number of drug-related deaths in the U.S. due to opioids has dramatically increased since the early 2000s. In 2017, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the opioid crisis in the United States. Since then, there have been joint efforts among various governmental departments to address the opioid crisis through education and outreach. Substance use treatment Substance abuse treatment is vital in reducing the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States. As of 2020, the state of California had the largest number of substance abuse treatment facilities . However, many states in the U.S. have less than 100 substance abuse treatment facilities.

Data on drug overdose death rates, by drug type and selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, numerator data from annual public-use Mortality Files; denominator data from U.S. Census Bureau national population estimates; and Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Arias E, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2018. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 69 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm. For more information on the National Vital Statistics System, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.

West Virginia is currently the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, with ** deaths per 100,000 population in 2022. Although West Virginia had the highest drug overdose death rate at that time, California was the state where the most people died from drug overdose. In 2022, around ****** people in California died from a drug overdose. The main perpetrator Opioids account for the majority of all drug overdose deaths in the United States. Opioids include illegal drugs such as heroin, legal prescription drugs like oxycodone, and illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs like fentanyl. The abuse of opioids has increased in recent years, leading to an increased number of drug overdose deaths. The death rate from heroin overdose hit an all-time high of *** per 100,000 population in 2016 and 2017, but has decreased in recent years. Now, illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids such as fentanyl account for the majority of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Opioid epidemic The sharp rise in overdose deaths from opioids have led many to declare the United States is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic or opioid crisis. The causes of this epidemic are complicated but involve a combination of a rise in dispensed prescriptions, irresponsible marketing from pharmaceutical companies, a lack of physician-patient communication, increased social acceptance of prescription drugs, and an increased supply of cheap and potent heroin on the streets.

This data contains provisional counts for drug overdose deaths based on a current flow of mortality data in the National Vital Statistics System. Counts for the most recent final annual data are provided for comparison. National provisional counts include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia as of the date specified and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period. Provisional counts are often incomplete and causes of death may be pending investigation (see Technical notes) resulting in an underestimate relative to final counts. To address this, methods were developed to adjust provisional counts for reporting delays by generating a set of predicted provisional counts (see Technical notes). Starting in June 2018, this monthly data release will include both reported and predicted provisional counts.

The provisional data include: (a) the reported and predicted provisional counts of deaths due to drug overdose occurring nationally and in each jurisdiction; (b) the percentage changes in provisional drug overdose deaths for the current 12 month-ending period compared with the 12-month period ending in the same month of the previous year, by jurisdiction; and (c) the reported and predicted provisional counts of drug overdose deaths involving specific drugs or drug classes occurring nationally and in selected jurisdictions. The reported and predicted provisional counts represent the numbers of deaths due to drug overdose occurring in the 12-month periods ending in the month indicated. These counts include all seasons of the year and are insensitive to variations by seasonality. Deaths are reported by the jurisdiction in which the death occurred.

Several data quality metrics, including the percent completeness in overall death reporting, percentage of deaths with cause of death pending further investigation, and the percentage of drug overdose deaths with specific drugs or drug classes reported are included to aid in interpretation of provisional data as these measures are related to the accuracy of provisional counts (see Technical notes). Reporting of the specific drugs and drug classes involved in drug overdose deaths varies by jurisdiction, and comparisons of death rates involving specific drugs across selected jurisdictions should not be made (see Technical notes). Provisional data will be updated on a monthly basis as additional records are received.

Technical notes

Nature and sources of data

Provisional drug overdose death counts are based on death records received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) as of a specified cutoff date. The cutoff date is generally the first Sunday of each month. National provisional estimates include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NCHS receives the death records from state vital registration offices through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP).

The timeliness of provisional mortality surveillance data in the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) database varies by cause of death. The lag time (i.e., the time between when the death occurred and when the data are available for analysis) is longer for drug overdose deaths compared with other causes of death (1). Thus, provisional estimates of drug overdose deaths are reported 6 months after the date of death.

Provisional death counts presented in this data visualization are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12-month ending period in June 2017 would include deaths occurring from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017. The 12-month ending period counts include all seasons of the year and are insensitive to reporting variations by seasonality. Counts for the 12-month period ending in the same month of the previous year are shown for comparison. These provisional counts of drug overdose deaths and related data quality metrics are provided for public health surveillance and monitoring of emerging trends. Provisional drug overdose death data are often incomplete, and the degree of completeness varies by jurisdiction and 12-month ending period. Consequently, the numbers of drug overdose deaths are underestimated based on provisional data relative to final data and are subject to random variation. Methods to adjust provisional counts have been developed to provide predicted provisional counts of drug overdose deaths, accounting for delayed reporting (see Percentage of records pending investigation and Adjustments for delayed reporting).

Provisional data are based on available records that meet certain data quality criteria at the time of analysis and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period. Therefore, they should not be considered comparable with final data and are subject to change.

Cause-of-death classification and definition of drug deaths
Mortality statistics are compiled in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) regulations specifying that WHO member nations classify and code causes of death with the current revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). ICD provides the basic guidance used in virtually all countries to code and classify causes of death. It provides not only disease, injury, and poisoning categories but also the rules used to select the single underlying cause of death for tabulation from the several diagnoses that may be reported on a single death certificate, as well as definitions, tabulation lists, the format of the death certificate, and regulations on use of the classification. Causes of death for data presented in this report were coded according to ICD guidelines described in annual issues of Part 2a of the NCHS Instruction Manual (2).

Drug overdose deaths are identified using underlying cause-of-death codes from the Tenth Revision of ICD (ICD–10): X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), and Y10–Y14 (undetermined). Drug overdose deaths involving selected drug categories are identified by specific multiple cause-of-death codes. Drug categories presented include: heroin (T40.1); natural opioid analgesics, including morphine and codeine, and semisynthetic opioids, including drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and oxymorphone (T40.2); methadone, a synthetic opioid (T40.3); synthetic opioid analgesics other than methadone, including drugs such as fentanyl and tramadol (T40.4); cocaine (T40.5); and psychostimulants with abuse potential, which includes methamphetamine (T43.6). Opioid overdose deaths are identified by the presence of any of the following MCOD codes: opium (T40.0); heroin (T40.1); natural opioid analgesics (T40.2); methadone (T40.3); synthetic opioid analgesics other than methadone (T40.4); or other and unspecified narcotics (T40.6). This latter category includes drug overdose deaths where ‘opioid’ is reported without more specific information to assign a more specific ICD–10 code (T40.0–T40.4) (3,4). Among deaths with an underlying cause of drug overdose, the percentage with at least one drug or drug class specified is defined as that with at least one ICD–10 multiple cause-of-death code in the range T36–T50.8.

Drug overdose deaths may involve multiple drugs; therefore, a single death might be included in more than one category when describing the number of drug overdose deaths involving specific drugs. For example, a death that involved both heroin and fentanyl would be included in both the number of drug overdose deaths involving heroin and the number of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone.

Selection of specific states and other jurisdictions to report
Provisional counts are presented by the jurisdiction in which the death occurred (i.e., the reporting jurisdiction). Data quality and timeliness for drug overdose deaths vary by reporting jurisdiction. Provisional counts are presented for reporting jurisdictions based on measures of data quality: the percentage of records where the manner of death is listed as “pending investigation,” the overall completeness of the data, and the percentage of drug overdose death records with specific drugs or drug classes recorded. These criteria are defined below.

Percentage of records pending investigation

Drug overdose deaths often require lengthy investigations, and death certificates may be initially filed with a manner of death “pending investigation” and/or with a preliminary or unknown cause of death. When the percentage of records reported as “pending investigation” is high for a given jurisdiction, the number of drug overdose deaths is likely to be underestimated. For jurisdictions reporting fewer than 1% of records as “pending investigation”, the provisional number of drug overdose deaths occurring in the fourth quarter of 2015 was approximately 5% lower than the final count of drug overdose deaths occurring in that same time period. For jurisdictions reporting greater than 1% of records as “pending investigation” the provisional counts of drug overdose deaths may underestimate the final count of drug overdose deaths by as much as 30%. Thus, jurisdictions are included in Table 2 if 1% or fewer of their records in NVSS are reported as “pending investigation,” following a 6-month lag for the 12-month ending periods included in the dashboard. Values for records pending investigation are updated with each monthly release and reflect the most current data available.

Percent completeness

NCHS receives monthly counts of the estimated number of deaths from each jurisdictional vital registration offices (referred to as “control counts”). This number represents the best estimate of how many

This data visualization presents county-level provisional counts for drug overdose deaths based on a current flow of mortality data in the National Vital Statistics System. County-level provisional counts include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia, as of the date specified and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period. Provisional counts are often incomplete and causes of death may be pending investigation resulting in an underestimate relative to final counts (see Technical Notes). The provisional data presented on the dashboard below include reported 12 month-ending provisional counts of death due to drug overdose by the decedent’s county of residence and the month in which death occurred. Percentages of deaths with a cause of death pending further investigation and a note on historical completeness (e.g. if the percent completeness was under 90% after 6 months) are included to aid in interpretation of provisional data as these measures are related to the accuracy of provisional counts (see Technical Notes). Counts between 1-9 are suppressed in accordance with NCHS confidentiality standards. Provisional data presented on this page will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional records are received. Technical Notes Nature and Sources of Data Provisional drug overdose death counts are based on death records received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) as of a specified cutoff date. The cutoff date is generally the first Sunday of each month. National provisional estimates include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NCHS receives the death records from the state vital registration offices through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP). The timeliness of provisional mortality surveillance data in the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) database varies by cause of death and jurisdiction in which the death occurred. The lag time (i.e., the time between when the death occurred and when the data are available for analysis) is longer for drug overdose deaths compared with other causes of death due to the time often needed to investigate these deaths (1). Thus, provisional estimates of drug overdose deaths are reported 6 months after the date of death. Provisional death counts presented in this data visualization are for “12 month-ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12 month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12 month-ending period in June 2020 would include deaths occurring from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The 12 month-ending period counts include all seasons of the year and are insensitive to reporting variations by seasonality. These provisional counts of drug overdose deaths and related data quality metrics are provided for public health surveillance and monitoring of emerging trends. Provisional drug overdose death data are often incomplete, and the degree of completeness varies by jurisdiction and 12 month-ending period. Consequently, the numbers of drug overdose deaths are underestimated based on provisional data relative to final data and are subject to random variation. Cause of Death Classification and Definition of Drug Deaths Mortality statistics are compiled in accordance with the World Health Organizations (WHO) regulations specifying that WHO member nations classify and code causes of death with the current revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). ICD provides the basic guidance used in virtually all countries to code and classify causes of death. It provides not only disease, injury, and poisoning categories but also the rules used to select the single underlying cause of death for tabulation from the several diagnoses that may be reported on a single death certificate, as well as definitions, tabulation lists, the format of the death certificate, and regul

The graph illustrates the number of deaths from fentanyl in the United States from 1999 to 2022. The x-axis represents the years, spanning from '99 to '22, while the y-axis displays the annual number of fentanyl-related fatalities. Over this 24-year period, deaths rise dramatically from 730 in 1999 to a peak of 73,838 in 2022. Notable milestones include an increase to 1,742 deaths in 2005, a significant jump to 9,580 in 2015, and a sharp escalation to 70,601 deaths by 2021. The data reveals a consistent and severe upward trend in fentanyl-related deaths, particularly accelerating in the mid-2010s. This information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the dramatic increase in fatalities due to fentanyl across the United States over the specified years.

A. SUMMARY This dataset includes unintentional drug overdose death rates by race/ethnicity by year. This dataset is created using data from the California Electronic Death Registration System (CA-EDRS) via the Vital Records Business Intelligence System (VRBIS). Substance-related deaths are identified by reviewing the cause of death. Deaths caused by opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine are included. Homicides and suicides are excluded. Ethnic and racial groups with fewer than 10 events are not tallied separately for privacy reasons but are included in the “all races” total.

Unintentional drug overdose death rates are calculated by dividing the total number of overdose deaths by race/ethnicity by the total population size for that demographic group and year and then multiplying by 100,000. The total population size is based on estimates from the US Census Bureau County Population Characteristics for San Francisco, 2022 Vintage by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

These data differ from the data shared in the Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Death by Year dataset since this dataset uses finalized counts of overdose deaths associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids only.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED This dataset is created by copying data from the Annual Substance Use Trends in San Francisco report from the San Francisco Department of Public Health Center on Substance Use and Health.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset will be updated annually, typically at the end of the year.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET N/A

E. RELATED DATASETS Overdose-Related 911 Responses by Emergency Medical Services Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths San Francisco Department of Public Health Substance Use Services

F. CHANGE LOG

• 12/16/2024 - Updated with 2023 data. Asian/Pacific Islander race/ethnicity group was changed to Asian.
• 12/16/2024 - Past year totals by race/ethnicity were revised after obtaining accurate race/ethnicity for some decedents that were previously marked as “unknown” race/ethnicity.

This data presents counts of provisional drug overdose deaths by selected drugs and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) public health regions, based on provisional mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System. This data is limited to drug overdose deaths with an underlying cause of death assigned to International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code numbers X40-X44 (unintentional), X60-X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), or Y10-Y14 (undetermined intent). Specific drugs were identified using methods for searching literal text from death certificates. The provisional data are based on a current flow of mortality data and include reported 12 month-ending provisional counts of drug overdose deaths by jurisdiction of occurrence and specified drug. Provisional drug overdose death counts presented on this page are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12-month ending period in June 2022 would include deaths occurring from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. Evaluation of trends over time should compare estimates from year to year (June 2021 and June 2022), rather than month to month, to avoid overlapping time periods. It is important to note that the data represent counts of deaths, and not mortality ratios or rates, which are the standard measure used to compare groups, and therefore should not be used to determine populations at disproportionate risk of drug overdose death.

In 2022, those aged between 35 and 44 years had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in the United States, with 27,583 deaths. Opioids are the main driver of overdose deaths in the United States. This statistic presents the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2013 to 2022, by age group.

This dataset describes drug poisoning deaths at the county level by selected demographic characteristics and includes age-adjusted death rates for drug poisoning from 1999 to 2015. Deaths are classified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD–10). Drug-poisoning deaths are defined as having ICD–10 underlying cause-of-death codes X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), or Y10–Y14 (undetermined intent). Estimates are based on the National Vital Statistics System multiple cause-of-death mortality files (1). Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000 U.S. standard population for 2000) are calculated using the direct method. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2015 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 U.S. census. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years before 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Estimate does not meet standards of reliability or precision. Death rates are flagged as “Unreliable” in the chart when the rate is calculated with a numerator of 20 or less. Death rates for some states and years may be low due to a high number of unresolved pending cases or misclassification of ICD–10 codes for unintentional poisoning as R99, “Other ill-defined and unspecified causes of mortality” (2). For example, this issue is known to affect New Jersey in 2009 and West Virginia in 2005 and 2009 but also may affect other years and other states. Estimates should be interpreted with caution. Smoothed county age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000 population) were obtained according to methods described elsewhere (3–5). Briefly, two-stage hierarchical models were used to generate empirical Bayes estimates of county age-adjusted death rates due to drug poisoning for each year during 1999–2015. These annual county-level estimates “borrow strength” across counties to generate stable estimates of death rates where data are sparse due to small population size (3,5). Estimates are unavailable for Broomfield County, Colo., and Denali County, Alaska, before 2003 (6,7). Additionally, Bedford City, Virginia was added to Bedford County in 2015 and no longer appears in the mortality file in 2015. County boundaries are consistent with the vintage 2005-2007 bridged-race population file geographies (6).

This indicator includes unintentional overdoses, homicides, and suicides from drug overdose. Death rate has been age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ICD-10 codes used to identify drug overdose related deaths are X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, and Y10-Y14.Drug overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the US over the past two decades. The first wave of deaths in the 1990s largely involved prescription opioids and was a consequence of increased prescribing of these drugs by medical providers. In the second wave that began in 2010, there was a rapid increase in the number of deaths involving heroin and, in the current wave that started in 2013, there has been a rise in the number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which can be found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, cocaine, and other drugs. In Los Angeles County in recent years, the vast majority of all drug overdose deaths have involved fentanyl. Important inequities have been noted by sociodemographic characteristics, with low-income and Black individuals found to have the highest overdose death rates. Cities and communities can take an active role in preventing overdose deaths by promoting primary prevention and supporting evidence-based harm reduction and treatment strategies.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

The graph displays the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2003 to 2023, with the x-axis representing the years and the y-axis showing the total overdose deaths each year. The data reveals a steady increase in deaths from 25,785 in 2003 to over 107,000 in 2022, highlighting the growing severity of the overdose crisis. The highest number of deaths occurred in 2022 (107,941), while 2023 saw a slight decrease to 105,007 deaths. A sharp rise is observed between 2015 and 2021, coinciding with the opioid epidemic and increased fentanyl-related overdoses. The data underscores the urgent need for stronger prevention and intervention efforts.

Annual number of deaths registered related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by sex, region and whether selected substances were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, with or without other drugs or alcohol, and involvement in suicides.

In 2022, California had 10,952 drug overdose deaths. Opioids are the main driver of overdose deaths. This statistic presents the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2022, by state.

We collect data and report statistics on opioid, stimulant, and other substance use and their impact on health and well-being.

Data come from Minnesota death certificates, with cause and manner of death information provided by a medical examiner or coroner. A drug overdose death is defined as having an underlying cause of death within the following range of ICD-10 codes: X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, Y10-Y14. Note that an opioid-involved death may also be counted as a cocaine-involved death if both drugs were listed on the death certificate as contributory causes. The seven non-exclusive categories of drug overdose deaths are defined as having a contributory cause of death: All opioid-involved deaths, Prescription opioids, Synthetic opioids, Heroin, Cocaine, Benzodiazepines, and Psychostimulants with abuse potential (includes methamphetamine).

The report looks at addiction and dependence in the areas of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco in Austria. The aim is to answer the following questions: How many and which people are affected by addiction and which consumption behaviour prevails? The report combines numerous data sources such as data from treatment facilities and statistics on causes of death.
https://jasmin.goeg.at/1925/2/Epidemiologiebericht%20Sucht_2021_Annex_bf.pdf

Life expectancy at birth, at the health region level, is decomposed by drug overdose deaths. Changes in mortality rates for a given cause of death change over time and contribute to the overall change in life expectancy.