WASHINGTON, DC – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued provisional estimates for all drug overdose deaths last year. The numbers are even higher than years past – with more than 72,000 total drug overdose deaths, more than 49,000 of which were opioid related – underscoring the need for continued action to combat the opioid crisis.
“The increase was driven primarily by a continued surge in deaths involving synthetic opioids, a category that includes fentanyl,” reports The Washington Post. “There were nearly 30,000 deaths involving those drugs in 2017, according to the preliminary data, an increase of more than 9,000 over the prior year.”
The Washington Post also notes that according to the data, fatal overdoses from oxycodone and hydrocodone “appear to have flattened out, suggesting the possibility that opiate mortality may be at or nearing its peak.”
Congress continues to prioritize a strong response to the opioid crisis, most recently with the House passage of H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. H.R. 6 will help in our overall efforts to fight this epidemic and bolster our ability to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl.
As families and communities continue to battle this menace, it is imperative the Senate act so these reforms can be signed into law.
To learn more about Energy and Commerce’s comprehensive efforts to combat the opioid crisis, click here. To learn more about the House’s comprehensive efforts to combat the opioid crisis, click here.
Fentanyl use drove drug overdose deaths to a record high in 2017, CDC estimates
Drug overdose deaths surpassed 72,000 in 2017, according to provisional estimates recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents an increase of more than 6,000 deaths, or 9.5 percent, over the estimate for the previous 12-month period.
That staggering sum works out to about 200 drug overdose deaths every single day, or one every eight minutes.
The increase was driven primarily by a continued surge in deaths involving synthetic opioids, a category that includes fentanyl. There were nearly 30,000 deaths involving those drugs in 2017, according to the preliminary data, an increase of more than 9,000 over the prior year.
Deaths involving cocaine also shot up significantly, putting the stimulant on par with drugs such as heroin and the category of natural opiates that includes painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. One potential spot of good news is that deaths involving those latter two drug categories appear to have flattened out, suggesting the possibility that opiate mortality may be at or nearing its peak.
The CDC cautions that these figures are early estimates based on monthly death records processed by the agency. The CDC adjusts these figures to correct for underreporting, because some recorded deaths are still pending full investigation. Final mortality figures are typically released at the end of the following calendar year.
The CDC updates these provisional numbers monthly. The recent inclusion of December 2017 means that a complete, albeit early look at 2017 overdose mortality is now available for the first time.
Geographically the deaths are distributed similarly to how they’ve been in prior years, with parts of Appalachia and New England showing the highest mortality rates. Once again, the highest rates were seen in West Virginia, with 58.7 overdose deaths for every 100,000 residents. The District of Columbia (50.4), Pennsylvania (44.1), Ohio (44.0) and Maryland (37.9) rounded out the top five.
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