Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics: Increases in Poisoning and Methadone-Related Deaths: United States, 1999-2005 – by Lois A. Fingerhut, M.A., Office of Analysis and Epidemiology.
“In 2005, poisoning remained the second leading cause of injury death in the United States, after surpassing firearms for the first time in 2004. The vast majority of poisoning deaths are due to unintentional drug overdoses. Narcotic-related deaths have played the largest role in the increase in all poisoning deaths from 1999 to 2005 (the years for which data are available). They accounted for 56 percent of all poisoning deaths in 2005, increasing from 50 percent in 1999. Their absolute numbers increased 84 percent over the 7 years. Methadone-related deaths have increased more than other narcotic-related deaths.”
