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In 2021, an estimated 107,000 people died in the US from drug overdoses. According to preliminary data published by the country’s health authorities, this figure corresponds to an increase of 15% compared to 2020. In addition, the same authorities state that more than half of these deaths are due to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
A grim record has been reached in the United States. According to preliminary data published this Wednesday, May 11 by the country’s health authorities, at least 107,000 overdose deaths were recorded in 2021, which represents a 15% increase from the previous year.
To establish these figures, the authorities examine death certificates and then make an estimate that takes into account late or incomplete death reports.
American health entities estimate that these latest figures translate into the death of one person every five minutes and that show a worrying increase in the opioid epidemic in the North American nation.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 70,000 of these deaths are related to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. They are followed by stimulants such as methamphetamine (more than 30,000 deaths), cocaine (almost 25,000) and natural or semi-synthetic opiates such as heroin (about 13,000).
A double fight against drug addiction and drug trafficking
Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called the latest figures “truly staggering,” while the White House issued a statement calling the acceleration in overdose deaths “unacceptable” and promoting its Strategy. National Drug Control, announced at the end of April.
It is unacceptable that we are losing a life to overdose every five minutes. That’s why, @POTUS‘s Strategy focuses on beating the opioid epidemic by going after its drivers: untreated addiction and drug trafficking.
My statement on today’s overdose data: https://t.co/64xh2anKfN
— Rahul Gupta (@DrGupta46) May 11, 2022
According to the US drug enforcement agency, the DEA, fentanyl, highly addictive and cheap to manufacture, is increasingly being mixed by traffickers with other drugs. It is also added to counterfeit pills sold on the Internet, such as pain relievers.
“The effect is that we have many more people – including light users and teenagers – exposed to these powerful substances that can cause overdose even with relatively low exposure,” Volkow said in a statement.
At the end of April, the Joe Biden administration released an action planfocused on two aspects to combat the crisis: more attention to addicted people and the fight against drug trafficking.
The US government intends, above all, to emphasize so-called “harm reduction” practices, such as the distribution of naloxone (an antidote capable of reviving a person with an opioid overdose); tests to verify the presence or not of fentanyl and programs to exchange used syringes for clean ones.
He also wants to improve access to treatment. “We’re going to double the number of treatment admissions for the populations most at risk of dying from overdoses,” promised Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of Drug Control, during a news conference in April.
Over the past 20 years, a steady rise in overdose deaths
Overdose deaths in the United States have been increasing every year for more than two decades. This escalation began in the 1990s with opioid painkiller overdoses, followed by waves of deaths from other opioids such as heroin and, more recently, fentanyl.
“milligram per milligram, #fentanyl is roughly 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.”
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What is fentanyl and why is it behind the deadly surge in US drug overdoses? A medical toxicologist explains https://t.co/0xt1wFOTDC via @ConversationUS— Jackson Medcalf-Eichholz (@askboomer1949) May 11, 2022
Experts also say that the opioid crisis in the country has recently been aggravated by the Covid-19 epidemic, which has increased the isolation of some populations. The largest increase in 2021 was in Alaska, where deaths increased by more than 75%.
In April 2021, the United States had exceeded 100,000 annual overdose deaths for the first time. However, the 15% increase recorded in 2021 is still lower than the 30% increase reported between 2019 and 2020.
AFP and AP
#overdose #deaths #worrying #increase