Drug overdose deaths declined in the United States on an annual basis but continue to remain the leading cause of deaths among people aged 18-44, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“New provisional data from CDC’s National Vital Statistics System predict a nearly 24 percent decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year,” the agency said in a Feb. 25 statement.
There were about 87,000 drug overdose deaths between October 2023 and September 2024, down from roughly 114,000 in the previous year, it said. The dates correspond to fiscal year 2024.
The 87,000 figure is the “fewest overdose deaths in any 12-month period since June 2020,” according to the agency.
The CDC attributed the dip in overdose death estimate to multiple factors, including shifts in the supply of illegal drugs, improved access to evidence-based treatment for people suffering from substance use disorders, and the distribution of naloxone—a medication capable of reversing an overdose.
Allison Arwady, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, called the decline in predicted overdose deaths by more than 27,000 in a single year “unprecedented.” This amounts to more than 70 lives saved daily.
“CDC’s public health investments, our improved data and laboratory systems for overdose response, and our partnerships with public safety colleagues in every state mean that we are more rapidly identifying emerging drug threats and supporting public health prevention and response activities in communities across America,” she said.
Despite the significant drop in provisional death stats, drug overdose continues to remain the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 44, the CDC said.
In 2017, President Donald Trump declared opioid overdose a public health emergency.
“This marks a critical step in confronting the extraordinary challenge we face,” he said at the time.
The CDC credited the designation, which continues to remain in place, and the following public health investments to the agency from Congress for having “transformed the nation’s ability to use data to save lives.”
According to the agency, deaths from opioids, especially synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, account for a major portion of drug overdose deaths.
In its recent statement, the CDC said that out of 50 U.S. states, 45 saw a decline in estimated overdose deaths. Five states saw an increase in overdose deaths—Alaska, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah.
Countering Fentanyl Inflows
Earlier this month, Trump signed an order to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China and 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada “because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our citizens, including fentanyl.”The White House said at the time that the tariffs were “necessary to hold China, Mexico, and Canada accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the United States.”
Tariffs on Mexico and Canada were paused for a month. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently said both nations must prove to the Trump administration they have taken enough action on fentanyl and border security if they wish to avoid the 25 percent tariffs.
China has played a key role in fentanyl flowing into the United States. A House committee report released last year said that Chinese companies “produce nearly all of illicit fentanyl precursors, the key ingredients that drive the global illicit fentanyl trade.”
The report said the Chinese communist regime directly subsidizes the manufacture and export of illicit fentanyl materials by providing tax rebates. The regime fails to prosecute fentanyl and precursor manufacturers and also “strategically and economically benefits from the fentanyl crisis.”
Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers recently introduced the bipartisan Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful (CATCH) Fentanyl Act aimed at countering the inflow of the synthetic opioid into the United States, according to a Feb. 26 statement from Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
The legislation “would help improve the process for inspecting cars, trucks, and cargo containers for fentanyl and other forms of contraband at both the Northern and Southern borders,” it said.
This will be done by “requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to test new detection pilot projects while considering cost effectiveness, wait times, and existing infrastructure needs at land ports of entry,” it said.
