More than 47,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2014, the deadliest year on record, according to federal data.
More than 60 percent of the overdoses, a 6 percent increase from 2013, were from painkillers or heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The government found that more people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. last year than any previous year on record. CDC added that from 2000 to 2014, nearly half a million Americans died from overdoses.
Prescription overdose deaths soared last year. In 2013, nearly eight people per 100,000 died of an opioid overdose, compared with nine people per 100,000 in 2014, a 14 percent bump, the CDC said.
There was also a large increase in deaths from synthetic opioids (not including methadone), which were involved in 5,500 deaths in 2014, the agency said. Such overdoses are linked to drugs such as illegally made fentanyl, which is a short-acting opioid, the CDC added.
Heroin deaths increased 26 percent from 2013 to 2014 as well. Prescription drug abuse is commonly referred to as a gateway toward heroin use because the drug is more available and cheaper than prescription painkillers.
CDC officials said they were very alarmed by the statistics.
“To curb these trends and save lives, we must help prevent addiction and provide support and treatment to those who suffer from opioid use disorders,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden. “This report also shows how important it is that law enforcement intensify efforts to reduce the availability of heroin, illegal fentanyl and other illegal opioids.”
The White House has made a plan to address the overdose epidemic. The plan includes training for prescribers to ensure they don’t dole out unnecessary opioid prescriptions and improving access to an overdose antidote called naloxone.
