Due To Opioid Crisis U.S. Life Expectancy Drops Again For First Time Since 1963
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What’s the story?
Fueled by a 28 percent increase in opioid related deaths in 2016, U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second straight year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports the Washington Post. The last time U.S. life expectancy dropped two years in a row was 1962 and 1963, due to an explosion of influenza deaths.
Yet, the federal government has done little to invest money or other resources to combat the opioid crisis since President Trump declared it a "public health emergency" in late October.
At current rates 174 people are dying of opioid overdose every day, or one death every 8 ½ minutes.
Data for 2017 is provisional at this point, but does not look to be better.
Opioid death rates continue to increase sharply in the United States, with a 28 percent rise in 2016. (National Center for Health Statistics)
What do you think?
Should these numbers from the CDC prompt action by the federal government? Should President Trump revise his actions and declare the opioid crisis a national emergency? What should the federal government do at this point to best confront this issue?
Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)
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