Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A new national study has found that Americans are now more likely to die of an accidental opioid overdose than in a motor vehicle crash (Source: “Opioid Overdose Now More Likely Cause of Death than Traffic Crashes,” (Lake County) News-Herald, January 19, 2019).
According to a new report from the National Safety Council (NSC), Americans now have a 1 in 96 chance of dying of an opioid overdose compared to a 1 in 103 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash.
Opioid overdoses are now the fifth leading cause of death, according to the United States. Ahead of it are heart disease (1 in 6 chance), cancer (1 in 7), chronic lower respiratory disease (1 in 27) and suicide (1 in 88).
Preventable injuries claimed an “unprecedented” 169,936 lives in 2017, according to the NSC. A person’s lifetime odds of dying from any preventable, accidental cause are 1 in 25 – a change from one in 30 in 2004, the NSC stated.