47,000 people in 2018, and almost a third of those deaths involved prescription opioids.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, two-thirds of drug overdose deaths involved an opioid.
A 2018 report from Substances Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that 10.3 million people in the U.S.
aged 12 or older misused opioids in the past year.Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin and the prescription drug fentanyl.
Other prescription opioids include oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and codeine.According to a 2017 paper, over 80% of people receive a prescription for opioids after low-risk surgery.