In the initial phase of the pandemic, mainstream news outlets obsessed over Covid-19 death counts, with outlets like CNN keeping a tracker on the screen even during unrelated news segments. While that fixation has subsided with President Trump out of office, the focus on Covid-19 over all else has continued unabated, which is problematic considering it's not the No. 1 killer of U.S. adults, ages 18-45.
A much greater "national emergency" is drug-related.
Fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death among U.S. adults, according to opioid awareness group Families Against Fentanyl, which analyzed government data.
"This is a national emergency. America's young adults — thousands of unsuspecting Americans — are being poisoned," FAF founder James Rauh said in a statement. "It is widely known that illicit fentanyl is driving the massive spike in drug-related deaths. A new approach to this catastrophe is needed."
"Fentanyl fatalities have increased by 49.4 percent in just 12 months, surpassing 64k deaths as of April 2021," the analysis states, surpassing deaths by suicide, car accidents, or gun violence.
The synthetic opioid is between 80 and 100 times more powerful than morphine and according to the DEA—just 2 mg can kill someone.
Fentanyl can be injected, snorted/sniffed, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, and spiked onto blotter paper. Fentanyl patches are abused by removing its gel contents and then injecting or ingesting these contents. Patches have also been frozen, cut into pieces, and placed under the tongue or in the cheek cavity. Illicitly produced fentanyl is sold alone or in combination with heroin and other substances and has been identified in counterfeit pills, mimicking pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone. (DEA)
Fentanyl is primarily sourced from China and Mexico and then trafficked into the U.S.
Acknowledging the dramatic increase in overdose deaths, President Biden last week announced an executive order to impose sanctions on foreign persons involved in the global illicit drug trade.
"The trafficking into the United States of illicit drugs, including fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, is causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses with their own tragic human toll," he said.
Fentanyl ODs are now the leading cause of death among 18-45 yrs.
— Nicole Saphier, MD (@NBSaphierMD) December 18, 2021
The WH is busy w/ boosters, but a stronger public health policy for this age group would be securing the SW border & withdrawing U.S. ambassadors from #China until they halt #Fentanyl shipments to Mexican cartels.