Table of Contents/Chapter Index
Source: "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use." New York Times, Aug. 2, 1994.
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According to the US Centers for Disease Control, using provisional data available for analysis on April 6, 2025, in calendar year 2023 at least 106,881 people in the US were reported to have died from drug overdose and toxins in the unregulated drug supply. These provisional data are incomplete and the CDC predicts that the final number of deaths in the US in calendar year 2023 due to overdose and toxins in the unregulated drug supply will be 110,037.
The CDC also reports that in the 12-month period ending November 30, 2024, at least 80,674 people in the US were reported to have died from drug overdose and a toxic unregulated drug supply. These provisional data are incomplete and the CDC predicts that the final number of deaths from overdose and toxins in the unregulated drug supply in that 12-month period will be 82,059.
- In calendar year 2022, at least 109,413 people in the US were reported to have died from drug overdose and toxins in the unregulated drug supply. The CDC predicts that the final number of overdose deaths in calendar year 2022 will be 112,582.
- In calendar year 2021, at least 107,573 people in the US were reported to have died from drug overdose and toxins in the unregulated drug supply. The CDC predicts that the final number of overdose deaths in calendar year 2021 will be 110,697.
Source: Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Rossen LM, Sutton P. Provisional drug overdose death counts. Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics. 2025. Last accessed April 17, 2025.
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