Fentanyl

Graph shows three waves of opioid overdose deaths, tracking deaths per 100,000 population from 1999 through 2023.

Wave 1 is the rise in prescription opioid overdose deaths starting in the 1990s.

Wave 2 is the rise in heroin overdose deaths starting in 2010.

Wave 3 is the rise in synthetic opioid overdose deaths starting in 2013.

There are four lines of data tracked on the graph. The first, “Commonly Prescribed Opioids (e.g., Natural & Semi-Synthetic Opioids and Methadone)”, starts in 1999 at ~1 death per 100,000 population. By 2011 this rises to ~5 deaths per 100,000, and remains relatively level until dipping to ~4 deaths per 100,000 by 2023.

The second line of data, “Heroin”, starts near zero in 1999. There is a rise starting in 2010, and reaches a peak in 2016 of ~5 deaths per 100,000 population, before declining to ~4 by 2023.

The third line of data, “Other Synthetic Opioids (e.g., fentanyl, tramadol)”, starts near zero in 1999. It starts to spike upward in 2013, and reaches a peak in 2022 (~23 deaths per 1000,000 population), then slightly declines in 2023.

The fourth line of data, “Any Opioid”, is ~3 deaths per 100,000 starting in 1999. This gradually rises until it hits a peak in 2022 (~25 deaths per 100,000 population), then slightly declines in 2023.

Source: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality. CDC WONDER, Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2024. https://wonder.cdc.gov/.