June 16, 2023

AAC’s CEO, Dr. Tom Britton, was recently interviewed by Reuters on the heels of recently released provisional data from the CDC indicating more than 109,000 Americans died of an overdose in the 12-month period ending in January 2023. This estimate is a 0.7% increase from last year’s number of overdose deaths, which is another record year of lives lost.

Overdose deaths exceeded 100,000 for the first time in 2021 due to the prevalence of fentanyl, and, according to Dr. Britton, in 2022, rates of mental illness, depression and anxiety increased dramatically and people began to switch to other substances.

More information about the increase in overdose deaths can be found at Reuters.