US overdose deaths fell 27% in 2024 in largest one-year decline ever

An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year - down from 110,000 in 2023 - but still above pre-Covid level

There were 30,000 fewer US drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before - the largest one-year decline ever recorded.

An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released on Wednesday. That is down 27% from 110,000 in 2023.

Increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

Expanded addiction treatment.

Shifts in how people use drugs.

The growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.

The number of at-risk Americans is shrinking, after waves of deaths in older adults and a shift in teens and younger adults away from the drugs that cause most deaths.