“US drug overdose deaths surged to nearly 72,000 last year, as addicts increasingly turn to extremely powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl as the supply of prescription painkillers has tightened.
Fresh estimates from the Centers for Disease Control showed Thursday that overdose deaths jumped in 2017 nearly seven percent to a record 71,568, far more than traffic accident deaths, gun-related deaths or suicide.
That was up from 67,114 in 2016 and just over 54,207 the previous year, according to the CDC.
Deaths increased in all but 12 of the 50 states, with the most deaths occurring in Florida, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio.”
Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-08-drug-overdose-deaths-surge-fentanyl.html
Source: MedicalXpress.com – August 16, 2018
See related article on overdose: Reducing Mortality After Overdose: Is Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Effective? available at: https://www.clinicalpainadvisor.com/opioid-addiction/medication-assisted-treatments-opioid-use-disorder-mortality-nonfatal-overdose/article/788593/
