5 ms·

As a comparison, the road toll in the USA is 33,000 per year. Firearms kill about the same number (including 20,000 suicides). 3,000 people were killed in the

As a comparison, the road toll in the USA is 33,000 per year. Firearms kill about the same number (including 20,000 suicides). 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. 72,000 overdose deaths is just a staggeringly large number.

emiliobumachar 8y ago
Thanks, you've put the number in perspective. More deaths than cars and guns combined. Staggering indeed.
- greatpatton 8y ago
  And that's the main reason life expectancy in the US is declining: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180815190526.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180815190526.h...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
village-idiot 8y ago
Overdosed actually overtook vehicle deaths before most public health officials realized that something horribly wrong was going on. That we still haven’t done much about it is deeply distressing, tbh. I feel it’s a sign that we’re losing the ability to act towards unified goals, even politically safe ones like “no more drug overdoses please”.
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  Stopping drug overdoses is far from a politically safe goal though, because you need to stop the war on drugs and take a less draconian approach, which goes directly against the hard-line stance of the Republican party.
  - village-idiot 8y ago
    Eh, I think you might be injecting too much partisanship into my original point. Stopping drug overdoses is popular across the board, but some of the tactics to accomplish that are not. We aren’t even at step zero, pretending to give a shit at the national level. You also need to factor in the victims, or rather their demographics. To be brutally honest, past victims of heroin were often minorities who lived in inner cities. Blacks in urban ghettos and gays cut off from all social support in particular, plus homeless people of all stripes. It was easy for people to pretend that those victims were simply immoral fools who got their just desserts. Now the victims are increasingly the children of white, suburban, middle class families. This has brought the crisis much closer to the heart of American political power, and made it much easier for the average voter to know someone who is addicted to or died from opiates. In theory this should reduce the drive for draconian drug war tactics, since the victims are neighbors and not brown boogeymen over in the big bad city. This doesn’t seem to be happening at the political level, which is weird and disconcerting.
    - dragontamer 8y ago
      > Stopping drug overdoses is popular across the board, but some of the tactics to accomplish that are not. We aren’t even at step zero, pretending to give a shit at the national level. We are at step zero, which is we have the capability of measuring the problem. Lets be frank: there is plenty of people who care, and those people are providing those measurements (CDC analyzing death certificates, especially for Opioid deaths). Whether or not our leaders respond is simply a matter of democracy. We need to elect leaders who care and will do something about it. But for now, step 0 is done. The public is becoming aware of the problem, and as far as I can tell, everyone is on the same page with regards to facts. Not even Trump dares to call these statistics "Fake News". Over the next 10 years, I bet this problem will be solved. There really aren't any political headwinds that I foresee. There aren't any political opponents on this issue.
      - CydeWeys 8y ago
        There are huge political headwinds, namely, that the party in charge of all three branches of government considers drug addiction to be a moral failing, not a disease. They are not willing to decriminalize drugs and pay for treatment programs -- they would rather continue the draconian approach of locking up anyone found to be in possession. Look at how much they are already railing against marijuana legalization, safe injection sites, lenient sentencing for non-violent drug offenders, and other similar measures. I don't know how you can be so rosy about the problem being solved within a decade when the war on drugs has been going on for many decades already.
Alex3917 8y ago
> 72,000 overdose deaths is just a staggeringly large number. It's still only a drop in the bucket compared to overall drug-related deaths though. Tobacco-related deaths alone account for 500k deaths annually, and that's not even counting deaths related to third-hand smoke.
- stevecalifornia 8y ago
  Third-hand smoke? Please, tell me more.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    “Thirdhand smoke is residual nicotine and other chemicals left on indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. People are exposed to these chemicals by touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in the off-gassing from these surfaces. This residue is thought to react with common indoor pollutants to create a toxic mix including cancer causing compounds, posing a potential health hazard to nonsmokers — especially children.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/third-hand-smoke/faq-20057791 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/ex...
- ghayes 8y ago
  I figured that number was global, not US-only. Yes, that is a staggeringly high number.
  - spicymaki 8y ago
    Oh wow, that is the US-only number: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast...
- skate22 8y ago
  I'm shocked that cigs are still legal. Everyone i know got hooked when under age & many of them have tried to quit before reaching legal age. Cigs are a product for kids

emiliobumachar 8y ago

Thanks, you've put the number in perspective. More deaths than cars and guns combined. Staggering indeed.

greatpatton 8y ago
And that's the main reason life expectancy in the US is declining: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180815190526.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180815190526.h...

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

village-idiot 8y ago

Overdosed actually overtook vehicle deaths before most public health officials realized that something horribly wrong was going on. That we still haven’t done much about it is deeply distressing, tbh. I feel it’s a sign that we’re losing the ability to act towards unified goals, even politically safe ones like “no more drug overdoses please”.

CydeWeys 8y ago
Stopping drug overdoses is far from a politically safe goal though, because you need to stop the war on drugs and take a less draconian approach, which goes directly against the hard-line stance of the Republican party.
- village-idiot 8y ago
  Eh, I think you might be injecting too much partisanship into my original point. Stopping drug overdoses is popular across the board, but some of the tactics to accomplish that are not. We aren’t even at step zero, pretending to give a shit at the national level. You also need to factor in the victims, or rather their demographics. To be brutally honest, past victims of heroin were often minorities who lived in inner cities. Blacks in urban ghettos and gays cut off from all social support in particular, plus homeless people of all stripes. It was easy for people to pretend that those victims were simply immoral fools who got their just desserts. Now the victims are increasingly the children of white, suburban, middle class families. This has brought the crisis much closer to the heart of American political power, and made it much easier for the average voter to know someone who is addicted to or died from opiates. In theory this should reduce the drive for draconian drug war tactics, since the victims are neighbors and not brown boogeymen over in the big bad city. This doesn’t seem to be happening at the political level, which is weird and disconcerting.
  - dragontamer 8y ago
    > Stopping drug overdoses is popular across the board, but some of the tactics to accomplish that are not. We aren’t even at step zero, pretending to give a shit at the national level. We are at step zero, which is we have the capability of measuring the problem. Lets be frank: there is plenty of people who care, and those people are providing those measurements (CDC analyzing death certificates, especially for Opioid deaths). Whether or not our leaders respond is simply a matter of democracy. We need to elect leaders who care and will do something about it. But for now, step 0 is done. The public is becoming aware of the problem, and as far as I can tell, everyone is on the same page with regards to facts. Not even Trump dares to call these statistics "Fake News". Over the next 10 years, I bet this problem will be solved. There really aren't any political headwinds that I foresee. There aren't any political opponents on this issue.
    - CydeWeys 8y ago
      There are huge political headwinds, namely, that the party in charge of all three branches of government considers drug addiction to be a moral failing, not a disease. They are not willing to decriminalize drugs and pay for treatment programs -- they would rather continue the draconian approach of locking up anyone found to be in possession. Look at how much they are already railing against marijuana legalization, safe injection sites, lenient sentencing for non-violent drug offenders, and other similar measures. I don't know how you can be so rosy about the problem being solved within a decade when the war on drugs has been going on for many decades already.

Alex3917 8y ago

> 72,000 overdose deaths is just a staggeringly large number. It's still only a drop in the bucket compared to overall drug-related deaths though. Tobacco-related deaths alone account for 500k deaths annually, and that's not even counting deaths related to third-hand smoke.

stevecalifornia 8y ago
Third-hand smoke? Please, tell me more.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  “Thirdhand smoke is residual nicotine and other chemicals left on indoor surfaces by tobacco smoke. People are exposed to these chemicals by touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in the off-gassing from these surfaces. This residue is thought to react with common indoor pollutants to create a toxic mix including cancer causing compounds, posing a potential health hazard to nonsmokers — especially children.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/third-hand-smoke/faq-20057791 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/ex...
ghayes 8y ago
I figured that number was global, not US-only. Yes, that is a staggeringly high number.
- spicymaki 8y ago
  Oh wow, that is the US-only number: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast...
skate22 8y ago
I'm shocked that cigs are still legal. Everyone i know got hooked when under age & many of them have tried to quit before reaching legal age. Cigs are a product for kids