West Virginia is currently the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, with 82 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023. 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 2023, 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 has 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.
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.
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 dataset describes drug poisoning deaths at the U.S. and state level by selected demographic characteristics, and includes age-adjusted death rates for drug poisoning. 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 2011–2016 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. 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. Drug poisoning death rates may be underestimated in those instances. REFERENCES 1. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System: Mortality data. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm. CDC. CDC Wonder: Underlying cause of death 1999–2016. Available from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/help/ucd.html.
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 dataset describes drug poisoning deaths at the U.S. and state level by selected demographic characteristics, and includes age-adjusted death rates for drug poisoning.
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 2011–2016 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.
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. Drug poisoning death rates may be underestimated in those instances.
REFERENCES 1. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System: Mortality data. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm.
This dataset describes drug poisoning deaths at the U.S. and state level by selected demographic characteristics, and includes age-adjusted death rates for drug poisoning. 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. 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. 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.” 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.
Deaths as a result of drug overdoses in Portugal amounted to ** in 2019, which is the second highest number of annual deaths reported in the provided time interval. In 2011, drug deaths fell to only **, before reaching ** just four years later. In 2020, drug-induced deaths were counted at **. In 2021, there were ** deaths by overdose, the highest value recorded. Low death rate compared to Europe When compared with the rest of Europe, Portugal has a fairly low incidence of drug deaths. A rate of ** drug deaths per million population (pmp) means that Portugal only had a higher drug death rate than a few countries in the continent, and a significantly lower rate than the ** deaths pmp in Norway, which is the highest in Europe. In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the consumption of drugs. The low amount of drug deaths in Portugal is usually attributed to this policy of decriminalization. Breakdown of drugs consumed The class of drugs that caused the highest share of individuals seeking treatment in Portugal, in 2021, were cannabis, with approximately ** percent of Portuguese drug treatment entrants seeking treatment primarily due to the use of this drug class. With a slightly lower share, opioids caused **** percent of drug treatment entries in Portugal. In 2022, Portugal had approximately ****** individuals in opioid substitution treatment, which was the sixth-highest in Europe.
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).
In 2020, there were around 40 overdose deaths among males per 100,000 population in urban settings, while the drug overdose death rate was slightly lower for males in rural areas with 34 deaths per 100,000 population. This statistic shows the death rate from drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020, by urbanicity and gender.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
MOUD treatment rates by service setting and living arrangement.
In 2021/2022, the states with the highest share of people who had used cocaine in the past year were Colorado, Vermont, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In Colorado, around 3.06 percent of the population were estimated to have used cocaine in the past year at that time, compared to the U.S. average of 1.95 percent. The states with the lowest past-year cocaine consumption rates were New Hampshire and Wyoming. Cocaine use in the United States As of 2022, cocaine was the second most used illicit drug in the United States, behind marijuana. At that time around 42.2 million people in the U.S. had used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. In comparison, around 29.5 million people reported using LSD in their lifetime and 22.1 million had used ecstasy. In 2022, almost 5.2 million people were estimated to have used cocaine in the past year. How many people in the U.S. die from cocaine every year? The number of drug poisoning deaths involving cocaine has increased significantly over the past couple decades. In 2021, there were around 24,486 overdose deaths involving cocaine, compared to just 3,800 in the year 1999. However, it is important to note that many overdose deaths involving cocaine also involve other drugs, namely opioids. The increase in overdose deaths involving cocaine is directly related to the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States. Rates of overdose death involving cocaine are twice as high for men than women, but death rates for both men and women have increased in recent years.
In 2023, Estonia had the highest incidence of drug-induced deaths in Europe at *** per million population. This was followed by Latvia at *** deaths per million population, and ** deaths per million in Norway. On the other hand, in Romania, there were only * drug-induced deaths per million population in 2023. Number of drug-induced deaths There were nearly *** thousand drug-related deaths reported in the EU in 2022. There was a steady increase in the number of deaths in the EU from only *** thousand cases in 2013. When combined with Turkey and Norway, the number of drug-induced deaths in 2022 nearly reached ***** thousand. This was the highest number of drug-related deaths recorded in the given period. Drug deaths by gender and age In 2022, 77 percent of drug-induced deaths reported in the EU were attributed to men. Half of the deaths that occurred among men were among those aged between 25 and 44 years. Similarly, the largest share of female deaths due to drug use was also reported in the same age group.
In 2023, there were 338 drug overdose deaths recorded in the Netherlands. The number of casualties was lowest in 2010, while 2023 represented the highest annual figure. In the last six years, a record high in drug deaths was reached. Opiates, cocaine and other dangerous drugs Many drug deaths in the Netherlands were caused by opiates. Of the total 338 casualties in 2023, 178 died because of opiate use. By comparison, there were 63 cocaine deaths that year. The number of cocaine-related deaths in the country in the past decade have also notably increased. Cocaine use on the rise According to the Trimbos survey on drug use, cocaine use has increased in the Netherlands. Whereas in 1997, 2.6 percent of the respondents stated to have used cocaine at least once in their lives, by 2022 this had grown to over six percent. Of the survey participants, one percent reported having used cocaine in the past month, a slight change in comparison to earlier years as well.
The leading causes of death among the white population of the United States are cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer accounted for a combined **** percent of all deaths among this population in 2023. In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death among white people but was the eighth leading cause in 2023. Disparities in causes of death In the United States, there exist disparities in the leading causes of death based on race and ethnicity. For example, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is the ***** leading cause of death among the white population and the ******* among the Hispanic population but is not among the ten leading causes for Black people. On the other hand, homicide is the ******leading cause of death among the Black population but is not among the 10 leading causes for whites or Hispanics. However, cardiovascular diseases and cancer by far account for the highest share of deaths for every race and ethnicity. Diseases of despair The American Indian and Alaska Native population in the United States has the highest rates of death from suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol. Together, these three behavior-related conditions are often referred to as diseases of despair. Asians have by far the lowest rates of death due to drug overdose and alcohol, as well as slightly lower rates of suicide.
In 2024, it was estimated that over **** million people in the United States had used cocaine at some point in their life. The number of people in the United States who stated they had used cocaine in the past month has fluctuated over the past decade, but over *** million people reported they had used cocaine in the past month as of 2023. Cocaine use among teens The percentage of U.S. students in grades *, **, and ** that had used cocaine in their lifetime has gradually decreased since 1999. At that time, around *** percent of students stated they had used cocaine in their lifetime, while in 2021 just *** percent of students said so. Perhaps unsurprisingly, perceived availability of cocaine among **** graders has also decreased over the past couple decades, with about ** percent of **** graders stating cocaine was “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get in 2021, compared to almost ** percent who reported it was easy to get in 1990. The most common illicit drugs U.S. students in grades *, **, and ** reported having used in their lifetime were marijuana, inhalants, and hallucinogens such as LSD and mushrooms. Deaths from cocaine In 2020, there were ****** drug poisoning deaths involving cocaine in the United States. The number of overdose deaths involving cocaine has increased significantly over the past few years as part of the ongoing opioid epidemic. Although, it is possible to die of an overdose just from using cocaine, many overdose deaths in the U.S. that involved cocaine also involved the use of opioids. The rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine is almost ***** times higher among men than women, but both have seen increases in the rate of overdose death in recent years. Considering race and ethnicity, the rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine is by far highest among black, non-Hispanics and lowest among Asian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanics.
During 2024, there were a total of 7,146 deaths from opioid overdose in Canada, 2,231 of which occurred in the province of Ontario. This statistic shows the number of deaths from opioid overdose in Canada in 2024, by province. Opioid Use and Misuse Opioids are commonly prescribed as both short-term and long-term pain management strategies. Unfortunately, opioids are sometimes used problematically, including taking increased amounts, tampering with the route of administration, or using with the goal to improve mood, all of which can lead to addiction, overdose, and even death. In 2023, there were around 6,462 hospitalizations in Canada due to opioid poisoning. Opioid Crisis in Canada Among Canadian adults, the majority view the opioid issues of the country as a serious problem or a crisis. Moreover, many opioid deaths also involve the use of a stimulant, which adds to the polysubstance nature of the opioid crisis. Efforts against the opioid crisis in Canada are multi-faceted. One way is focused on reducing possible harm from using illicit opioid sources such as heroin or other street opioids through the use of opioid agonist treatment methods including methadone and naloxone.
New Mexico was the state with the highest rate of suicidal death among adolescents in the U.S. in 2023, with around **** deaths per 100,000 adolescents. The overall suicide rate in the U.S. has increased over recent years. Suicide is more common among men than women, with rates among men almost **** times higher than among women. Risk factors Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders, as well as substance abuse. In fact, suicidal thoughts, plans to commit suicide, and suicide attempts are all more common among those with drug or alcohol dependence or abuse. In terms of suicides due to a known mental disorder, depression accounts for around ** percent of all such suicides. Methods Most suicides in the United States are carried out by firearms, however, the most common method of suicide differs from country to country. In 2022, over ****** suicides in the United States were conducted by firearms, or just over half of all suicides that year. Firearms are the most common means of suicide among both men and women in the United States, but suicide by poisoning is much more common among women than men.
This statistic displays the number of substance abuse treatment facilities in the United States by state as of 2020. During this period, there were *** substance abuse treatment facilities located in North Carolina.
As of 2023, the countries with the highest life expectancy included Switzerland, Japan, and Spain. As of that time, a new-born child in Switzerland could expect to live an average of **** years. Around the world, females consistently have a higher average life expectancy than males, with females in Europe expected to live an average of *** years longer than males on this continent. Increases in life expectancy The overall average life expectancy in OECD countries increased by **** years from 1970 to 2019. The countries that saw the largest increases included Turkey, India, and South Korea. The life expectancy at birth in Turkey increased an astonishing 24.4 years over this period. The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide as of 2022 were Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria, where a newborn could be expected to live an average of ** years. Life expectancy in the U.S. The life expectancy in the United States was ***** years as of 2023. Shockingly, the life expectancy in the United States has decreased in recent years, while it continues to increase in other similarly developed countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic have been cited as reasons for this decrease.
West Virginia is currently the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, with 82 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023. 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 2023, 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 has 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.