Family Groups Advocate for Using “Poisoning” Instead of “Overdose” in Fentanyl Deaths

Families of people whose deaths involved fentanyl are advocating for using the word “poisoning” instead of “overdose,” The New York Times reports.

They argue that “overdose” suggests their loved ones were responsible for their own deaths, while “poisoning” shows they were victims.

“Overdose” has been used by health and law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local levels to record deaths related to substances for decades. But changes are starting to occur in some places. In September, Texas began requiring death certificates to say “poisoning” or “toxicity” rather than “overdose” if fentanyl was the leading cause. Legislators in Ohio and Illinois have introduced measures requiring a similar change. In Tennessee, a proposed measure states that if fentanyl is implicated in a death, the cause “must be listed as accidental fentanyl poisoning,” not overdose.

When The New York Times asked experts in substance use policy and treatment which term they preferred, they found there is no consensus. Some say they prefer “overdose,” because it is so widely used in data reporting. Others use the term “accidental overdose” to show lack of intention. News outlets occasionally use both terms.