overdose deaths
Lethal drug quantities
Overdose deaths are fatalities resulting from taking too much of a drug or combination of drugs, whether accidental or intentional.
The phrase appears constantly in public health discussions, particularly around the opioid crisis: Overdose deaths reached record levels last year.
The term encompasses prescription medications, illegal drugs, and alcohol, though recent usage focuses heavily on fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
- opioidsReceptor-binding pain relievers
- fentanylSynthetic pain-blocking compound
- heroinIllegal addictive opiate
- opioid crisisMass addiction emergency
- naloxoneOpioid overdose antidote
harm reduction · safe injection site · needle exchange · epidemic · crisis · public health · toxicology · coroner · morgue · needle · relapse · addiction · fatal · accidental · prescription · pills · emergency · paramedics
- mortalitydeceased, mortality, mortality rates, dying, dead
- health statisticsmortality rate, prevalence, case fatality rate, life expectancy, infant mortality
- drug crimesdrug trafficking, drug dealing, drug smuggling, drug conspiracy, narcotics trafficking
- Drug Scandalsthalidomide, fen-phen, OxyContin, opioid epidemic, opioid crisis
- addictionaddiction, drug addiction, substance abuse, drug dependence, substance dependency
overdose deathsnatural causes
Death without external intervention
cancer deaths · heart disease deaths · accidental deaths · homicides · suicides
overdose, deaths, over, dose, death, overdosed, overdosing, doses, dosed