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Despite the awareness and media coverage, the peak of the opioid epidemic in the United States is still not met. According to the latest official statistics, published Thursday, 70,237 people died last year from over-consumption of drugs, against 63,632 in 2016. Relative to the size of the population, this represented 21.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 , up 9.6% from 2016. Two-thirds of the victims are men; the most affected age group is the 35-44 age group. As a result, life expectancy at birth fell slightly in 2017, for the third year in a row, to 78.6 years. Never seen since the end of the 1910s, marked by the Great War and the Spanish flu. Less strong, but continuing for more than a decade, the increase in suicides also contributes to the decline in life expectancy and concerns health authorities. It is now the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.
On the opioid side, opiates are involved in more than two out of three deaths, the others (around 27,000) being the result of overconsumption of cocaine, methamphetamine and other psychostimulants. Among opiates, the authorities distinguish four sub-categories: heroin, methadone, natural and semi-synthetic opiates (such as oxycodone, a prescription painkiller but diverted to the black market) and, finally, synthetic opiates. This new generation of drugs includes tramadol and fentanyl (ten times more potent than heroin), and the slightest error in dosage can be fatal. Since the Mexican cartels rushed into this market, fentanyl, sold in pill or cut with heroin, floods the country. And just spotted in France: last week, 600 grams were seized in Paris.
Frédéric Autran
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