Americans are more likely to die from a drug overdose than in a car crash for the first time in U.S. history, according to a new report from the National Safety Council.
To compile the report, the National Safety Council analyzed 2017 data on accidental or preventable deaths in the U.S.
The likelihood of an American dying from an opioid overdose is 1 in 96, while the chance of dying in a car crash is 1 in 103. The most common causes of death are heart disease (1 in 6 chance) and cancer (1 in 7).
"The nation's opioid crisis is fueling the Council's grim probabilities, and that crisis is worsening with an influx of illicit fentanyl," the council said in a Jan. 14 statement cited by NPR.
More articles on opioids:
Opioid epidemic pushes Starbucks to install needle-disposal boxes in bathrooms
Viewpoint: Hospital-based physicians must share what they know to end opioid crisis
6 ways UC San Diego Health is fighting the opioid epidemic