U.S. overdose deaths fell through most of last year, suggesting a lasting improvement in an epidemic that had been worsening for decades. Federal data released Wednesday showed that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years — the longest drop in decades — but also that the decline was slowing. Overdose deaths fell in 45 statesDeaths began steadily climbing in the 1990s with overdoses involving opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths from heroin and — more recently — illicit fentanyl. The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data run through August 2025 and represents the first update of monthly provisional drug overdose deaths since the federal government shutdown. The recent deceleration of overdose deaths could be because producers in Canada and Mexico found alternative sources, Reuter and his colleagues think.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 19, 2026 15:31 UTC