Drug OD Deaths Have Nearly Tripled Since 1999: CDC
Whites, middle-aged adults hardest hit, new report finds
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Friday, February 24, 2017
FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled in the United States since 1999, with whites and middle-aged Americans bearing much of the brunt, a new government report shows.
More than 16 out of every 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, compared to just over 6 in 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Heroin and other opioids accounted for about half of these deaths, a reflection of the damage wrought by the prescription painkiller epidemic this decade, said Dr. Edwin Salsitz, an addiction medicine specialist.
https://medlineplus.gov/news/fullstory_163775.html