Americans Are Now More Likely To Die From An Opioid Overdose Than In A Car Crash

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According to a new report from the National Safety Council, for the first time since they began recording statistics about “accidental” deaths, Americans are more likely to die from an accidental drug overdose than from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

CNN reports that the NSC, after examining data collected from state and federal agencies, determined that the risk of dying from an opioid overdose is now greater than the risk of dying from “falls, pedestrian incidents, drowning, and fire.”

According to the report, “the lifetime odds of dying from an accidental opioid overdose were 1 in 96. For motor vehicle accidents the odds were 1 in 103 and 1 in 114 for falls.” Only the lifetime odds of dying from suicide or “accidentail injury” were greater.

The number of accidental “poisoning deaths,” which include opioid and other drug overdoses, has risen 11% year over year, from 2016 to 2017. In 2017, deaths from accidental overdoses reached an all-time high, topping 70,000.

The new data underscores information from other government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control, which just last month noted that, largely because of the opioid crisis, American life expectancy has declined, overall, for the first time in decades — and that children and young adults are specifically affected.

“What began more than 2 decades ago as a public health problem primarily among young and middle-aged white males is now an epidemic of prescription and illicit opioid abuse that is taking a toll on all segments of US society,” that study indicated. – READ MORE

 

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