Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
Number of deaths
Drug poisoning
Suicide
Homicide
Firearms
Motor vehicle
2004
27,424
32,439
17,357
29,569
44,933
2005
29,813
32,673
18,124
30,694
45,343
2006
34,425
33,300
18,573
30,896
45,316
2007
36,010
34,598
18,361
31,224
43,945
2008
36,450
36,035
17,826
31,593
39,790
2009
37,004
36,909
16,799
31,347
36,216
2010
38,329
38,364
16,259
31,672
35,332
2011
31,340
39,518
16,238
32,351
35,303
2012
41,502
40,600
16,688
35,563
36,415
2013
43,982
41,149
16,121
33,636
35,369
2014
47,055
42,773
15,809
33,674
35,398
examiner—a doctor who investigates suspicious deaths—would run blood
tests to determine the specific cause of death.
Currently, drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death
in the United States, surpassing deaths from auto accidents, suicides, and
guns. Suicide and drugs are linked. While eight out of ten overdose deaths
are accidents, one-third of the people who die from suicide are under the
influence of drugs or alcohol at the time. Drug abuse can lead to depression,
which in turn can lead to suicide by purposeful overdose.
Between 1999 and 2014, the number of deaths from auto accidents
fell and deaths by gun violence rose only slightly. However, drug overdose
deaths nearly tripled in that period and they keep rising. Just over 52,400
people in the United States died of drug overdoses in 2015, the latest year for
which the US government has complete figures. These deaths affected tens
of thousands of others as well. Most people who die from an overdose leave
behind family members and friends who face a lifetime of grieving.
This graph, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that drug-induced deaths in the
United States are far outpacing the number of deaths frommotor vehicle accidents, gun-related incidents,
and other lethal events.
DRUG-INDUCED
VERSUS
OTHER DEATHS
Addiction and Overdose in AmericA
7
