A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows the rising death toll being exacted in the United States from the opioid epidemic. Â Â According to the study, which was done using 2016 data, one out of every 65 deaths in the U.S. that year was caused by or involved the use of opioids.
But was most shocking about the just-released study was its finding concerning deaths of “younger adults.† In this population group, one out of every five deaths involved some type of opioid. To say we are in a crisis is an understatement.
In March the CDC reported that a total of 63,632 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2016 which was a 21.5% increase over the 2015 total. Â Previously it had been reported that deaths from opioid overdoses nearly doubled between 2009 and 2015.
But the new study, showing the shocking number of young persons dying from opiods, puts all of the previous reports into perspective that should lead to more action on the part of governments, law enforcement officials, the medical industry, and citizens groups.
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Researchers who did the study found that from 2001 to 2016 there were 335,123 opioid related deaths in the United States, and they broke these numbers down into demographic groups.
In 2016, more than 8,400 of the opioid deaths occurred among adults between 25 and 34 years of age, which means that 20% of all deaths in this age group in 2016 involved opioids.  Nearly 3,000 opioid-related deaths recorded in 2016 occurred among those between 15 and 24 years of age, which accounted for 12.4% of deaths in this demographic.
The new CDC study says that opioids were involved in 1.5% of all deaths in 2016, regardless of age group. This means that opioid drugs caused more deaths than high blood pressure, HIV/AIDs and pneumonia.
“Premature death from opioid-related causes imposes an enormous and growing public health burden across the United States,†the study says. “These trends highlight a need for tailored programs and policies.â€
President Donald Trump and his Republican counterparts who control the U.S. Congress have never truly recognized the opioid epidemic as a national crisis. Perhaps this new study will serve as a wake-up call and make politicians start paying attention to the heavy price these drugs are exacting on our society.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
