Overdosing the US: a grim record hits the nation

In the United States, a grim record was set last year. In 2021, more than 100,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heavy painkillers in particular are the culprits.

In total, more than 103,000 people died from an overdose in the US last year. It is only about the cases that have been reported. According to CDC forecasts, the number would be even higher, around 107,000 dead.

This would be an increase of 15 percent compared to 2020. That year, 93,000 Americans died of an overdose. Even then, there was already talk of a huge increase, namely 28 percent compared to a year earlier.

Most (if not all) overdoses are caused by opioids. Those are heavy painkillers that have more or less the same effect as morphine. Last year, there were 77,776 reports of opioid overdoses. Most of the victims took synthetic opioids, such as the drug fentanyl.

Most of the deaths occurred in states in the east of the country, but also in some Western states, many more people died from overdoses than a year earlier. According to experts, the corona pandemic, which left people isolated, could be related to the increase, writes CBS News.

Nevertheless, the United States has been suffering from an opioid crisis for much longer, which kills many people every year.