Percentage of Overdose Deaths Linked to Smoking Substances Has Soared

A new report finds the percentage of overdose deaths linked to smoking substances increased almost 74% between 2020 and 2022, while the percentage involving injections fell.

Researchers found overdose deaths linked to smoking substances rose from 13.3% to 23.1% during that time, while overdose deaths involving injections fell from 22.7% to 16.1%, CNN reports.

The researchers evaluated data from crime scene investigations, witness reports and autopsy data. They categorized overdose deaths by evidence of smoking, injecting, ingesting or snorting substances. They found that by the end of 2022, smoking was the most common form of substance consumption linked with overdose deaths.

More than 109,000 people died of an overdose in the United States in 2022. Almost 70% of them used synthetic opioids, in most cases illegally manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

“Strengthening public health and harm reduction services to address overdose risk related to diverse routes of drug use, including smoking and other noninjection routes, might reduce drug overdose deaths,” the researchers wrote in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.