Odds of dying from accidental opioid overdose in U.S. surpass those of dying in car accident

For the first time on record the odds of accidentally dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are now greater than those of dying in an automobile accident.

The grim finding comes from the National Safety Council, which analyzed preventable injury and fatality statistics from 2017.

The NSC also found the lifetime odds of death for this form of overdose were greater than the risk of death from falls, pedestrian incidents, drowning and fire.

Examining a variety of federal and state data, the NSC found the lifetime odds of dying from an accidental opioid overdose were 1 in 96. For motor vehicle accidents the odds were 1 in 103 and 1 in 114 for falls. The lifetime odds of suicide were greater, at 1 in 88.

“Too many people still believe the opioid crisis is abstract and will not impact them. Many still do not see it as a major threat to them or their family,” Maureen Vogel, spokeswoman for the National Safety Council, told CNN in an email. “These data show the gravity of the crisis. We have known for some time that opioid overdose is an everyday killer, and these odds illustrate that in a very jarring way.”

The NSC highlights, however, that the odds given are statistical averages over the whole U.S. population and do not necessarily reflect the chances of death for a particular person from a particular external cause. In addition they are lifetime odds, based on dividing the one-year odds by the life expectancy of a person born in 2017.

In 2017 preventable injury deaths were 169,936 — an increase of 5.3 percent from the year before and a 96 percent increase from figures in 1992.

“The data really underscore the importance of knowing the biggest risks to our safety,” Ms. Vogel said. “The Council calculates the Odds of Dying not to scare Americans, but to empower them to make safer decisions and improve their chances of longevity.”