Drug overdose deaths fell by 27 % in 2024, in accordance with the provisional information launched Wednesday by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC).
The drop represents a big pattern reversal in what stays the main explanation for demise for U.S. adults beneath 45 years previous — one which the CDC described as “a strong sign that public health interventions are making a difference and having a meaningful impact.”
In 2024, there have been an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths — a 26.9 % lower from the estimated 110,037 overdose deaths in 2023.
For the previous few years, predicted annual overdose deaths have plateaued: There was an estimated 110,037 deaths in 2023; an estimated 112,582 deaths in 2022; and an estimated 110,697 deaths in 2021.
These numbers adopted a normal upward pattern within the information from the previous years, with an estimated 95,072 deaths in 2020; 73,177 deaths in 2019; and 69,747 deaths in 2018.
In 2024, practically all states noticed a decline in estimated overdose demise. Solely two states — South Dakota and Nevada — noticed a slight bump.
South Dakota noticed a 2.3 % uptick, from an estimated 86 deaths in 2023, to an estimated 88 deaths in 2024. And Nevada’s estimated overdose deaths elevated by 3.5 %, from 1,442 in 2023 to 1,492 in 2024.
In the meantime, Louisiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., all noticed declines of 35 % or extra in estimated overdose deaths.
Drug overdose deaths declined throughout all drug courses calculated. Estimated overdose deaths involving opioids decreased from 83,140 in 2023 to 54,743 in 2024 — together with a decline in estimated overdose deaths involving artificial opioids, reminiscent of fentanyl, from 76,282 in 2023 to 48,422 in 2024.
Overdose deaths involving psychostimulants, reminiscent of methamphetamine, dropped from an estimated 37,096 in 2023 to an estimated 29,456 in 2024. And estimated overdose deaths involving cocaine dropped from 30,833 in 2023 to 22,174 in 2024.
