Total drug overdose deaths in America declined by around 5 percent last year, the first drop since 1990. Drug overdose deaths, 1980 to 2018 Data through 2017 is based on final reported mortality totals. Prescription painkillers were the main cause of overdose deaths until heroin, and then fentanyl, surpassed them over the last decade. While fentanyl deaths continued to rise last year, they grew at a slower rate than in recent years, the data showed. In Pennsylvania, where deaths had surged as fentanyl reached the drug supply, overdose deaths fell by an estimated 18 percent.

Source: New York Times July 17, 2019 15:19 UTC