[OC] Fentanyl has become the number one cause of overdose deaths in the U.S.

    by nytopinion

    15 Comments

    1. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
      Tools: Svelte, Layercake, D3

      This chart accompanied an Opinion guest essay in The New York Times, “How Fentanyl Drove a Tsunami of Death in America,” by Maia Szalavitz, a contributing opinion writer who covers addiction and public policy. 

      The essay begins:
      “Last year over 70,000 Americans died from taking drug mixtures that contained fentanyl or other synthetic opioids. The good news is that recent data suggests a decline in overdose deaths, the first significant drop in decades. But this is not a uniform trend across the nation. To understand this disparity, it’s important to examine how we got here.

      Today’s crisis is often described as a series of waves. But if you look at the data, it was more like a couple of breakers followed by a tsunami. First, prescription opioid fatalities rose. Then heroin deaths surged. And finally, illicitly manufactured fentanyl overtook all that preceded it.”

      The essay includes several other maps and graphics. You can check them out, and read the rest of the essay, even if you don’t have a subscription to The New York Times, for free [with this gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/27/opinion/fentanyl-overdose-deaths.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N04.gvEB.AYBQktRKRPTu&smid=re-nytopinion).

    2. double_teel_green on

      But why isn’t the deaths of those who take their medications as prescribed listed in this data set?

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