Large U.S. cities see big jump in deadly opioid overdoses, CDC data shows

The opioid epidemic is fast becoming a big city problem.

There was a 54 percent increase in overdoses from July 2016 through September 2017 in the major metro areas of 16 states surveyed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a chunk of the country that includes Chicago, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

Nationwide, the scourge that President Donald Trump has vowed to defeat shows no sign of abating, with a 30 percent increase in opioid overdoses reported during that same period, the data released Tuesday shows.

Anne Schuchat, the CDC's acting director, said the grim new arithmetic, which came from emergency room statistics, confirmed some suspicions.

"We're currently seeing the highest drug overdose death rates ever recorded in the United States," Schuchat said in a Q&A session with reporters.

Asked specifically about the rise in urban opioid overdoses, Schuchat said health officials suspect a "change in the toxicity" of drugs on the street.

 Source : nbcnews