“After two decades of rising deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide, the United States is at a turning point. Recent declines in mortality suggest meaningful progress, but that progress is fragile. Over the past year, the federal behavioral health and injury prevention systems that support prevention, surveillance, and crisis response have experienced leadership upheaval, funding disruptions, and workforce reductions. Whether recent gains continue will depend on sustained investment in the public health infrastructure that makes prevention possible.
After peaking in 2021, this year’s report finds that the combined age-adjusted rate of deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide declined by 16 percent in 2024, building on a decrease of 4 percent in 2023. Specifically, alcohol-induced mortality declined by 4 percent, drug overdose mortality by 26 percent, and suicide mortality by 3 percent.”
