Fentanyl deaths are plummeting amongst Gen Z. But specialists nonetheless don’t know what triggered the shift. | EUROtoday

Fatal drug overdoses amongst younger Americans have declined considerably for the primary time in a decade, in response to newly launched federal information – a uncommon second within the ongoing fentanyl disaster.

The variety of drug-related deaths amongst individuals underneath 35 dropped from greater than 31,000 in 2021 to roughly 16,690 in 2024 — a lower of almost 47 p.c, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just lately reported.

“What we’re seeing is a massive reduction in [fatal] overdose risk, among Gen Z in particular,” Nabarun Dasgupta, an habit researcher on the University of North Carolina, instructed NPR. “Ages 20 to 29 lowered the risk by 47 percent, cut it right in half.”

It’s a turning level after years of rising fatalities pushed by fentanyl, a strong artificial opioid that started flooding U.S. markets round 2014 when Mexican drug cartels started smuggling massive portions. The fentanyl was typically disguised as prescription opioids corresponding to OxyContin and Percocet.

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Since then, greater than 230,000 individuals underneath the age of 35 have died from drug overdoses within the U.S., it was reported. But now there’s been a shift that’s saving lives.

It’s a glimmer of hope for a lot of who’ve been affected by the epidemic, together with Jon Epstein, who misplaced his son Cal to a fentanyl overdose in 2020.

“What has happened with the 20 to 29-year-olds? They beat fentanyl,” Epstein instructed NPR.

Epstein’s son was 18 when he took a deadly dose of what he believed to be a opioid tablet he purchased on social media. It turned out to be counterfeit and laced with fentanyl.

Epstein now works with the advocacy group Song for Charlie.

In Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, Justin Carlyle, 23, has survived three overdoses. Carlyle instructed NPR that he started utilizing cocaine at a younger age.

“I use fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, yeah, all of it. I was real young. I was 13 or 14 when I tried cocaine, crack cocaine, for the first time.”

“I’ve had three overdoses, and two of the times I was definitely Narcaned,” he mentioned, including that he has tried to give up.

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Experts attribute the drop to a mixture of attainable components, together with a wider availability of Narcan, elevated consciousness campaigns, behavioral shifts in drug use, and fewer potent fentanyl within the illicit drug provide.

“This trend in the reduction of substance use among teenagers is unprecedented,” mentioned Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She cited University of Michigan information that exhibits teenage abstinence from medicine and alcohol reached file highs in 2024.

But specialists warn the disaster is way from over. They say sustaining this decline would require continued funding, outreach, and training.

There’s additionally a query of future funding because the Trump administration has proposed main cuts to science and well being companies, together with applications supporting psychological well being, substance use therapy, and hurt discount efforts.