Drug abuse is the main cause of death among Americans who are below 50 years of age. According to a recent research published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an estimation of 63,600 Americans died from alcohol and drug overdoses in 2016 and an increase of 11% over 2015. New reports show that deaths’ from alcohol and drugs have reached new peaks and continue to lower the overall life expectancy of the United States.

Drug Addiction in the United States

The most common public health complications in the U.S. is drug addiction. More than 15 million people are strongly addicted to drugs. This becomes one of the major causes of health problems, road accidents, and also a significant factor in financial crisis and employment issues. Due to the impact on productivity and health, drugs cost the U.S. government about 20 billion dollars every year.

In general, drug addiction is the major cause of domestic violence, illiteracy, family breakups, child abuse and unemployment. The government of the United States continues to struggle with drug abuse as a significant public health problem. Despite the focus on drug addiction, rates of drug abuse have been increasing over the past 30 years. This is why Dallas lawyers for drug crime defense is also increasing.

Death Rate due to Drug Addiction

According to a new report by the CDC, deaths due to drugs and alcohol continue to increase across all States of the United States. Death rates due to drug addiction jumped abruptly by eighteen percent for the U.S. population from the year 2014 to 2016.

From 2015 to 2016, deaths due to heroin, psychostimulants, and cocaine rose by 19.5%, 33.4%, and 52.6% respectively. The increase was not found to cover all the ethnic and racial groups. The U.S. life expectancy was found to fall for only men – not women.

At birth, the life expectancy for women is 81.3 years, in contrast to 76.5 years in men. Among the black men, the death rate rose by 1% in 2016, while it actually fell by 1% among white women. There were little or no observable changes among white men and black women.

According to data collected in October last year from the 30 states including DC, 21 states shown a total increase in opioid-related overdose deaths and ten states shown the death rate double. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and West Virginia were found to be most affected, with the highest death rates.

Although every State experienced a steady increase in the alcohol and drugs addiction death rate, an extreme increase was found in men who were between 24 and 45 years of age, says the report published by CDC.

Drug abuse related to opioids, in particular, is the most common public health problem among the youths in the United States, leading to the President proclaiming it as an emergency health issue last year. According to the last year’s report, drug overdose has gradually weakened the lifespan of the U.S.

In 2015, more than 52 thousand Americans died due to opioid related drug overdoses in just one year. This is absolutely higher than those who died in gun violence, car crashes and HIV/AIDS in the same year.

Conclusion

Without proper action by the United States government, more people are likely to die in the near future due to drugs, alcohol and substance abuse. So before that happens, make sure that you are well informed about drugs and the effects, you can visit here for further information.

 

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