Overdose deaths fall for 3rd straight year, CDC data shows

About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — about 14% fewer than the previous year, according to preliminary government data. It was the third straight annual drop, making it the longest decline in decades, according to federal data released Wednesday. The 2025 total is about the same as the tally in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Declines were seen across a number of drug types, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. …