Over 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2022, CDC says
According to a new report from the CDC, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2022, making 2021 the deadliest year on record.
Released by the CDC. A provisional death count for 2022, released Wednesday, estimated that 109,680 people died of drug overdoses over the course of the year. While the total number of deaths in 2021 is slightly higher at 109,179, it also shows that the number of deaths in the US is not increasing and has reached a plateau.
Overdose deaths in the CoVID-19 pandemic are skyrocketing, rising from 71,000 in 2019 to more than 90,000 in 2020, and then eclipsing 100,000 for the first time in 2021.
The increase in deaths coincides with a dramatic increase in illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border in recent years. The spread of deadly fentanyl among drug traffickers has also contributed to the crisis.
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According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 110,000 Americans will die from an overdose in 2022. (iStock)
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times stronger than heroin, is relatively cheap to produce and traffickers can quickly mix the substance into existing products to artificially increase supply. Buyers are often unaware that fentanyl is adulterated when they purchase a drug, leading to widespread overdoses.
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Fentanyl is widespread Born in China And then shipped across the border to South America, a fact that has caused significant friction between Beijing and Washington, DC.
China hit back at the US for targeting sanctions in April. Two Chinese companies and four citizens that the Treasury Department alleges is “supplying precursor chemicals to drug cartels in Mexico to manufacture illegal fentanyl for U.S. markets.”
China is the source of most of the fentanyl trafficked into the US, raising tensions between Washington and Beijing. (Stock/Fox News)
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“China, in the spirit of humanitarianism, is trying to help the US as much as possible,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing, arguing that the US sanctions The move has “seriously damaged” bilateral cooperation. Both countries on drug control
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.