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N
EWS FROM OVERSEAS
United States
F
ATAL DRUG OVERDOSES HIT
RECORD HIGH IN
US,
GOVERNMENT FIGURES SHOW
n 2014, more people died in America
from drug overdoses than from car
accidents, with heroin and opioids
responsible for the majority of deaths.
Deaths from drug overdoses have
surged across the US to record levels,
according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Nationwide, overdose deaths last year
exceeded 47,000, more than the
number of people killed in car
accidents and up 7% from the previous
year.
The CDC said 61% of the deaths
involved some type of opioid pain
relievers and heroin. The count also
included deaths involving powerful
sedatives, cocaine and other legal and
illicit drugs.
CDC director Tom Frieden said the rise
in overdoses related to opioid use, up
14% from 2014, was particularly
concerning.
‘The increasing number of deaths from
opioid overdose is alarming,’ he said.
‘The opioid epidemic is devastating
American families and communities.’
Overdose deaths are up in both men
and women, in non-Hispanic whites
and blacks, and in adults of nearly all
ages, the report said.
West Virginia, New Mexico, New
Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio had the
highest overdose death rates. In West
Virginia, the overdose rate was 35.5
per 100,000; the national rate was
about 15 per 100,000.
State rates are calculated to provide a
more balanced comparison between
states given the differences in
population size.
In sheer numbers, California – the most
populous state – had the most overdose
deaths last year, with more than 4,500.
Ohio was second, with more than
2,700.
The numbers are based on death
certificates. Nearly half a million
Americans died from drug overdoses
from 2000 through 2014, the CDC
says.
Drug overdoses – particularly those
from prescription opioid painkillers –
I