A user addicted to heroin prepares a fix Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Heroin deaths rose 23 percent in one year to 12,989, slightly higher than the number of gun homicides, according to government data.
Deaths from synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl, rose 73 percent to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll, but posted the smallest increase. Abuse of drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed 17,536, an increase of 4 percent.
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More Children Dying From Overdoses[1]"I don't think we've ever seen anything like this. Certainly not in modern times," said Robert Anderson, who oversees death statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new numbers were part of the agency's annual tally of deaths and death rates in 2015.
Related:
Overdoses Out of Control, Surgeon-General Says[2]Overall, overdose deaths rose 11 percent last year, to 52,404. By comparison, the number of people who died in car crashes was 37,757, an increase of 12 percent. Gun deaths, including homicides and suicides, totaled 36,252, up 7 percent.
As part of its annual report the CDC also found that
rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death[3] rose last year, causing the nation's life expectancy to go down for the first time in more than 20 years. Drug overdoses were a significant factor, but an unexpected increase in the death rate from heart disease, the nation's No. 1 killer, was another major reason.References
- ^ More Children Dying From Overdoses (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ Overdoses Out of Control, Surgeon-General Says (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death (www.today.com)
