Fentanyl Deaths Among Children Rising Faster Than Any Other Age Group, More Than Tripled in Just Two Years
Suicides Used to Make Up More Than 25% of Fentanyl Deaths, Now Less than 1% are Suicides
Akron, Ohio – A new analysis by Families Against Fentanyl has found that synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among children 14 and under are increasing at a faster rate than any other age group in the United States, and more than tripled in just two years. FAF’s new issue brief, entitled “The Changing Faces of Fentanyl Deaths” is based on the non-profit organization’s analysis of data from the Center for Disease Control on synthetic opioid (fentanyl) poisoning fatalities.
“These disturbing new findings should serve as a wake-up call to our nation's leaders. Families Against Fentanyl is calling for the Biden Administration to declare fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction and immediately establish a White House task force dedicated to the fentanyl crisis. Americans deserve to know what is being done to save lives, and what is being done to uncover and stop the international manufacturers and traffickers of illicit fentanyl. This is the number one killer of our nation’s young adults. It is killing more and more children each year. It’s time to treat this threat with the urgency it deserves” said Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl.
Key findings from Families Against Fentanyl’s “The Changing Faces of Fentanyl Deaths”:
Fentanyl Deaths Among Children Are Rising Faster Than Any Other Age Group
Synthetic opioid (fentanyl) fatalities among children aged 14 and under are rising faster than any other age group, and more than tripled in just two years.
Fentanyl deaths among infants increased twice as fast as overall U.S. fentanyl deaths in the two years from 2019 to 2021 (the latest year for which CDC data is available).
Nationally, fentanyl deaths doubled in the two years from 2019 to 2021. However, in the same period, deaths among infants to 1 year olds quadrupled, deaths among 1 to 4 year olds more than tripled, and deaths among 5 to 14 year olds nearly quadrupled.
Since 2015, synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among infants increased nearly 10 fold, and 15 fold among children ages 1 to 14: an increase of more than 1,400%.
Nearly All U.S. Fentanyl Deaths Are Unintentional Poisonings
In 2000, more than one in four synthetic opioid (fentanyl) fatalities were determined to be suicide (26.5%).
In 2021, less than one percent of these fatalities were caused by suicide.
Synthetic Opioid (Fentanyl) Poisoning is Still the Leading Cause of Death Among Americans 18 to 45.
In December 2021, Families Against Fentanyl released its groundbreaking finding that fentanyl was the number one cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45 in 2019, 2020 and the first part of 2021. That continued to be the case throughout 2021 (the latest year for which CDC data is available).
More than half of all fentanyl deaths in the United States were among Americans aged 25 to 44 in 2021, the latest year available.
Americans 35 to 44 are more likely to die from synthetic opioid (fentanyl) poisoning than any other ten year age group.
Media Inquiries: press@familiesagainstfentanyl.org
