New York, United States

Approximately one in three Americans knows someone who has died from a drug overdose, revealed a new survey on Friday (May 31). 

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Losing someone to drug overdose

More than 2,300 adults took part in the survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

It found that 32 per cent of respondents knew someone who had succumbed to a fatal drug overdose. Furthermore, for 18.9 per cent of these, that person "was a family member or close friend".

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Also read | Heartbreaking! Over 321,000 children lost a parent to America's drug epidemic between 2011-2021

The survey also highlighted the fact that individuals across the political spectrum had similar rates of knowing someone who had died from an overdose. It also found that those personally affected by such a loss were more likely to view addiction as an "extremely or very important policy issue." Researchers believe this indicates that those who have lost loved ones to overdoses might be able to unite to "facilitate greater policy change."

"The drug overdose crisis is a national tragedy," said Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, who led the analysis, in a news release. She emphasised that while many US adults are mourning overdose-related losses, they might not be as visible as groups affected by "less stigmatised health issues". 

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"Although large numbers of US adults are bereaved due to overdose, they may not be as visible as other groups who have lost loved ones to less stigmatised health issues." 

Kennedy-Hendricks suggests that movements aiming to "build support for policy change to overcome the devastating toll of the overdose crisis should consider the role of this community."

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Furthermore, the economic burden of the opioid crisis is staggering, with associated costs exceeding $1 trillion annually in the United States, reported the survey.

US drug epidemic

In recent years, the United States, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has witnessed over 100,000 drug overdose deaths annually. Since 1990, more than one million Americans have died from drug overdoses, with the majority of these deaths being opioid-related. Synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, have been a major driver of this crisis, said the CDC.

This comes as another recent study revealed that drug abuse is increasingly claiming the lives of scores of parents, leaving hundreds of thousands of children orphan.

As per the National Institute on Drug Abuse, between 2011 and 2021, around 649,599 people aged 18 to 64 died from a drug overdose. This translates to an estimated 321,566 children losing a parent to the drug epidemic. 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse recently reported that over 321,000 children in the United States have lost parents to overdoses in the past decade. This tragic situation underscores the far-reaching impact of the crisis.

(With inputs from agencies)