Drugs Outnumber Traffic Deaths For The First Time Ever

Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death in 2009, killing at least 37,485 people nationwide (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

There were 33,808 traffic-related deaths in 2009.

This is the first time that drugs have accounted for more fatalities than traffic accidents since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979.

Fueling the surge in deaths are prescription painkiller and anti-anxiety drugs that are potent, highly addictive and especially dangerous when combined with one another or with other drugs or alcohol. Among the most commonly abused are OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma, and Fentanyl.

• There is a dramatic rise in prescription drug deaths in recent years, which now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

"It's a wonderful medical advancement that we can treat pain," Bohnert said. "But we haven't figured out the safety belt yet."

Drug-induced deaths are mostly accidental overdoses but also include suicides and fatal diseases caused by drugs.

This is the only place the article mentions suicides. With depression affecting 6.7% of the population yearly (30% of these cases are severe), suicide is the obvious answer to the cause in the majority of overdose deaths.

Deaths from suicide outnumber traffic deaths as well.

• Suicide vs. car accidents 
• In the United States, suicide accounted for 36,547 deaths in 2009 (3/4 of them by males), while there were 33,808 automobile accident fatalities in 2009.
• In Australia, 40 % more people lost their lives to suicide than car accidents. 
• In the U.K., 100% more people die from suicide than road traffic accidents.
• Suicide vs. homicide 
• There were more than twice as many suicides (36,547) as homicides (16,591) in the United States in 2009. 

• Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in 2009.
• 4th among 18-65 years (2007) 
• Note: Mortality statistics are based on information from death certificates, and most suicides go unreported. 
• The actual figure is 3 to 5 times higher (109,641 - 182,735), according to the book "Why Suicide". 
• That puts suicide at 3rd to 6th cause of death in the U.S.

Other Suicide facts:

• Men:
• Die by suicide 4x more often then women (27,269 vs. 7,329 in 2009)
• Chose more fatal methods, such as firearms.
• Women:
• Attempt suicide 4x more often then men. 
• Choose less deforming methods, such as drug overdose.

SOURCE:
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/17/local/la-me-drugs-epidemic-20110918/2