Annual overdose deaths in the US top 109,000 – Medical News

More than 109,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the 12 months ending January 2023, up slightly from the previous year, according to interim data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. United States of America

Reuters reported that the figure represents an increase of 0.7% compared to 107,764 overdoses in the 12-month period that ended in January 2022. This increase comes despite the impetus given by President Joe Biden to adopt measures to deal with drug addiction and overdoses.

In May, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on 17 individuals and entities in China and Mexico that it accused of facilitating the production of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, a drug that played a major role in the opioid crisis and related deaths.

The number of overdose deaths in the United States passed the 100,000 mark for the first time in 2021, in parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in mental health problems in the population. The effect is exacerbated by the wide availability of deadly drugs such as fentanyl, increasingly mixed with other illegal drugs.

“During the pandemic, mental illness, depression, and anxiety have increased exponentially, and people are starting to use more and more substances,” said Tom Britton, CEO of the American Addiction Centers.

Overdose deaths in the United States rose 13.7% between January 2021 and January 2022, and 31.4% in the previous 12 months, at the height of the pandemic.

But the increase in overdose deaths began before the epidemic, due to the use of prescription opioid painkillers and illegal drugs such as heroin.

CDC information

What is fentanyl?

Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that has been approved to treat severe pain, usually pain caused by advanced-stage cancer 1. Its potency is between 50 and 100 times higher than morphine. It is prescribed as transdermal patches or dissolving tablets, and may be diverted to misuse and overuse in the United States.