Drug overdose deaths see first decline in decades

By Cassidy Morrison

Published July 17, 2019 4:28pm ET

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Drug overdose deaths see first decline in decades — Discarded syringes lay near near train tracks in Philadelphia, Monday, July 31, 2017. According to the Council of Economic Advisers report, more than 50,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, of which 63 percent reportedly involved opioids. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) | Matt Rourke

Drug overdose deaths declined in 2018 after years of increases, according to preliminary government data released Wednesday.

“The latest provisional data on overdose deaths show that America’s united efforts to curb opioid use disorder and addiction are working,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “Lives are being saved, and we’re beginning to win the fight against this crisis.”

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Alex Azar Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Health and Human Services