Overdose deaths increased 16 percent in 2021 compared to 2020

Pills on table
(Image credit: Icy Macload/Getty Images)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released figures on Thursday indicating that nearly 107,000 Americans died of overdoses last year. This is an increase of almost 16 percent compared to 2020, reports The Associated Press.

Overdose deaths fall under the category of "accidental deaths" which are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Accidental deaths were responsible for 3.4 million deaths in 2021, which is 80,000 more than the previous year. The increase in overdose deaths is directly coupled with the opioid epidemic as it continued to be worsened by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.