Birmingham News Sports (BNS) – The number of Americans overdosing on opioids, including heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl-related pills, is increasing at a faster rate than at any point in nearly a decade, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) said in a report released Thursday.
The number of people who died from opioid overdoses in 2017 was 7.9 million, a 2 percent increase over 2016.
The APCC said it would like to see the number of overdose deaths decrease by 10 percent to 10 million over the next decade.
The rate of opioid overdose deaths has doubled since 2010, according to the CDC.
A decade ago, the APCC predicted that opioid deaths would decrease by about 10 percent by 2035.