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    Pain in the Nation report: Decline in alcohol and drug deaths

    By Robyn Oster
    June 2026

    Trust for America’s Health released is 2026 Pain in the Nation report, which examines trends in deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

    The findings:

    • Overall: After peaking in 2021, the combined age-adjusted rate of deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide declined by 16% in 2024, building on a decrease of 4% in 2023. Alcohol-induced mortality declined by 4%, drug overdose mortality by 26%, and suicide mortality by 3%.
    • Overdose deaths: This was the second year in a row that the overdose death rate declined. All groups experienced declines, with particularly large decreases among youth 0-17 and young adults 18-34, Black Americans, and people in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Synthetic opioids remained the drug type with the highest overdose death rate, but it also had the highest decrease in overdose rate. Cocaine and other psychostimulant deaths also declined.
    • Alcohol-induced deaths: This was the third year in a row with a decline in the alcohol-induced death rate. All groups saw declines in 2024, except for multiracial people.

    But: Starting in 2025, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Injury Center experienced drastic workforce reductions, and behavioral health funding was abruptly terminated. This could undermine progress.

    • The report calls for a sustained commitment to primary prevention programs and investments. It includes recommendations around investing in prevention and conditions that promote health, reducing overdose risk, and transforming the mental health and substance use disorder prevention system.