More Overdoses Now Come From Smoking, Not Injecting

A new CDC report flags a notable stat related to the rising use of fentanyl: For the first time, more fatal overdoses come from smoking drugs than injecting them.

• From early 2020 to late 2022, smoking overdose deaths surged 74% while injection overdose deaths fell 29%, reports the AP.
• Overall, smoking overdoses accounted for 23% of deaths in that time span and injections 16%, per CNN.
• In 2022 alone, the US logged more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths, per the Hill, and more than 70% of them were linked to synthetic opioids, including illegally manufactured fentanyl, or IMFs.

• So why the shift to smoking? While people more commonly injected fentanyl when it first surfaced, the CDC suggests users might be under the impression they can control their intake better through smoking. (CNN notes that even a small amount can be deadly.) Another factor: Fentanyl users who inject typically do so multiple times a day, and their veins can essentially wear out. "One person showed me his arms and said, 'Hey, look at my arm! It looks beautiful! I can now wear T-shirts and I can get a job because I don't have these track marks,'" researcher Alex Kral tells the AP.

(More fentanyl stories.)