United States: The last article of the CDC, a member of a group tasked with conducting independent programming on public health matters, puts forward that drug overdose in the nation is at its peak and is anticipated to take more lives than ever before.
The Next Step After the release of the data by the agency, the number of deaths caused by illicit drugs surged greatly and was about 108,000 in the year 2022.
On the one hand, this mortality number brought about by substance use disorders in 2022 is equal to the figure in 2021, which is also 106,669.
Overdose, a leading cause of death in the US
Based on an article in Fox News, the number of adults widespread deaths due to opioid drug abuse, in which fentanyl, the most commonly taken synthetic opiate is still increasing in US.
The rate of death due to drug overdose was found to have increased from 8.2 per 100,000 in 2000 to 32.6 per 100,000 mandating the CDC died during the past 20 years.
Compared to 2021, about 2022 male patients have an increased number of drug overdose cases, but the number in women has significantly risen over the year.
Lastly, up in all age groups there was a rise of drug overdose cases in adults aged 35 years or above from year 2021 to year 2022.
However, a downfall is that cases have been observed in those aged 15 to 34. Additionally, the reported cases are lowest among those 65 and above years of age.
How prevalent is illicit drug usage?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) findings suggest that, overall, about 25 percent of adults aged 12 and older account for over 70 million people who have been regularly consuming illicit drugs in 2022.
Dr. David Campbell, clinical and program director of Recover Together in Bend, Oregon, who was not involved in the CDC report, said, “When it comes to the intractable problem of substance abuse, one thing is evidently clear: America has an appetite for drugs, and not enough is being done about it,” as Fox News reported.
Further added, “It should come as no surprise, then, that overdoses have emerged as one of the top 10 causes of non-genetic deaths and a leading contributor to the first drop in life expectancy in the United States in over two decades.”
Philip Rutherford, strategy lead for substance use at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, added, “Despite the grim statistics released today by the CDC, overdose fatalities rose at a slower rate in 2022 compared to a year earlier.”
Rutherford, who was not involved in the CDC’s report, said, “Let’s hope this is an early indication that the upward curve of overdose deaths is flattening.”