Dec. 13, 2017 — Putting the opioid epidemic into perspective, both historically and in comparison to other causes of death, may help readers better understand the scope of the current crisis. Deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil caused more overdose deaths than even heroin in 2016, but illegal use of those three drugs accounted for more than half of all fatal drug overdoses, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and codeine caused more than 20 percent of the 64,000 opioid deaths last year. Combinations of drugs, cocaine and prescription drugs that were not opioids were responsible for the rest of the deadly overdoses. And drug overdoses are now the major cause of all accidental deaths in the United States, more than suicide (which is also rising), car accidents, murders and shootings, according to the CDC.
In the last 16 years, drug overdoses have claimed more than 700,000 American lives — which is more than 34 years of the AIDS epidemic, more than the losses of life seen during the Vietnam War, World War II or World War I.
Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said opioid deaths are comparable to a “9/11-scale loss every three weeks.” (Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.) Christie gave those remarks when reporting his findings as the chairman of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
