Pain in the Nation 2024: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) hosted a national webinar on our report, Pain in the Nation 2024: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths.

TFAH’s report found that a decrease in the alcohol-induced mortality rate led to a slightly lower combined rate of all U.S. deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide in 2022, but the long-term trend of such deaths is still alarmingly high. Between 2002 and 2022, combined deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide have increased by 142 percent from 74,003 deaths in 2002 to 207,827 deaths in 2022. For 2022, the alcohol-induced mortality rate decreased by six percent to 13.5 deaths per 100,000 people, the first decrease in the rate after more than a decade of increases, but death rates for drug overdose and suicide remained unchanged. The report also includes a special feature on polysubstance misuse and overdose.

The webinar discussed steps policymakers should take to begin to reverse these crises.

Panelists

• Allison Arwady, MD, MPH
  Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, is the director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, where she leads CDC’s innovative research and science-based programs to prevent injuries and violence and to reduce their consequences.
  Bio
  
• CAPT Christopher Jones, Pharm.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
  Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H. (CAPT U.S. Public Health Service) is the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). CAPT Jones brings a wealth of experience to SAMHSA having led substance use, mental health, and injury and violence prevention policy, program, and research activities for more than a decade.
  Bio
  
• Alexander Crosby, MD, MPH
  Bio
  

Moderator

• Tekisha Dwan Everette, Ph.D., MPA, MPH, CPH
  Tekisha Everette is TFAH’s Executive Vice President. In this role, she works in partnership with TFAH’s President and CEO to chart and implement the organization’s strategic direction and priorities, provides counsel on current and emerging policy issues, and engages with key organizations, policymakers, and other partners to advance policy priorities to improve public health and promote equity.
  Bio