"Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times.
The death count is the latest consequence of an
escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly
by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug
overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50.
Although the data is preliminary, the Times’s
best estimate is that deaths rose 19 percent over the 52,404 recorded in
2015. And all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in
2017."
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