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. Our estimate of 62,500 deaths would be
a 19 percent increase over the 52,404 recorded in 2015.Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50, and all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in 2017.
Because drug deaths take a
long time to certify, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not be able to calculate final numbers until December. The
Times compiled estimates for 2016 from hundreds of state health departments and county coroners and medical examiners. Together they represent data from states and counties that accounted for 76 percent of overdose deaths in 2015. They are a preliminary look at the extent of the drug overdose epidemic last year, a detailed accounting of a modern plague.
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