The Pain in the Nation: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths 2024 by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) is an annual report highlighting data on deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide in 2022. TFAH is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works on various health issues and advocates for prevention and health equity. This year’s edition of Pain in the Nation contains a special feature on polysubstance use (the use of more than one drug) and emerging drug overdose trends, and key policy recommendations.
An additional fact sheet for Hawaiʻi and a microsite containing an interactive map is also available.
Here are some of the latest data from 2022:
- In 2022, there were 207,827 deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide in the US (pg. 21).
- The combined age-adjusted death rate (drug-induced, alcohol-induced, and suicide) in the US was 60.1 deaths per 100,000. This is slightly less than the 2021 rate (60.9), yet double the 2007 rate (29.6) (pg. 21).
- Individually, the alcohol-induced death rate declined by 6%, while the drug-induced and suicide death rates both increased by less than 1% (pgs. 21, 24-25).
- Hawaiʻi observed an 8% increase in its combined age-adjusted death rate. Suicide and drug-induced death rates increased by 22% and 7%, and alcohol-induced death rates decreased by 13% (pg.1).
- Hawaiʻi had the lowest combined age-adjusted death rates (drug-induced, alcohol-induced, and suicide) in 2022 (42.7 per 100,000), while New Mexico had the highest (117 per 100,000) (pg. 29).
- Policy recommendations fall under three areas: 1) Investing in health-promoting prevention and conditions, 2) Reducing overdose risk and access to lethal means of suicide, and 3) Transforming the mental health and substance use prevention system (pgs. 6, 31).
View the full report, Hawaiʻi fact sheet, and microsite here.
