Pain in the Nation: Alabama Press Release
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Home / Reports / Pain in the Nation /
Alabama
New Report: Alabama's Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Death Rate Could Increase 41 percent in Next Decade; Alabama Would have 15th Lowest Rate in Country
Study Highlights Solutions, Calls for National Resilience Strategy
Washington, D.C., November 21, 2017 – Alabama's drug, alcohol and suicide death rate could increase by 41 percent in the next 10 years, according to a new report, Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and Well Being Trust (WBT).
Alabama's rate could rise to 51.9 per 100,000 people from these three causes by 2025 – which would be the 15th lowest – compared to the state's current rate of 36.8 per 100,000 (as of 2015), which is the 17th lowest.
Nationally, deaths from drugs, alcohol and suicide could account for 1.6 million fatalities over the coming decade (2016 to 2025). This would represent a 60 percent increase compared to the past decade, if recent trends hold, based on an analysis conducted by the Berkeley Research Group (BRG) for this report. From 2006 to 2015, there were 1 million deaths from these three causes.
Nationally, in 2015, there were 127,500 deaths from drugs, alcohol and suicide. The epidemics currently are responsible for 350 deaths per day, 14 per hour and one every four minutes.
According to the report's projections, this could reach 192,000 per year by 2025 (39.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2015 compared to 55.9 per 100,000 in 2025).
At a state level, in 2005, 21 states and Washington, D.C. had death rates from these three causes above 30 per 100,000, and only six states had death rates above 40 per 100,000.
As of 2015, 48 states and Washington, D.C. had rates above 30 per 100,000, 30 were above 40 per 100,000 and five states had rates above 60 per 100,000, including New Mexico which had the highest rate of 77.4 per 100,000.
By 2025, 26 states could reach 60 deaths per 100,000 – and two states (New Mexico and West Virginia) could reach rates of 100 deaths per 100,000.
The study found, however, that these numbers may be conservative, especially with the rapid rise of heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil use. If the nation continues along recent trajectories, death rates would actually double to 2 million by 2025.
"These numbers are staggering, tragic – and preventable," said John Auerbach, president and CEO of TFAH. "There is a serious crisis across the nation and solutions must go way beyond reducing the supply of opioids, other drugs and alcohol. Greater steps – that promote prevention, resiliency and opportunity – must be taken to address the underlying issues of pain, hopelessness and despair.
Current Nationwide Trends
Drug overdose deaths tripled between 2000 and 2015 (with a total of 52,400 deaths in 2015), with rural community opioid-related death rates increasing seven-fold. Provisional data shows drug overdoses could exceed 64,000 in 2016, with fentanyl deaths alone accounting for 21,000 of these deaths (and fentanyl-related deaths doubling between 2015 and 2016).
Alabama's drug overdose death rate was 15.2 per 100,000 in 2015, which ranked 32nd highest.
Alcohol-induced deaths increased 37 percent between 2000 and 2015, reaching a 35-year high at 33,200 deaths in 2015. This excludes alcohol-attributable deaths related to injury and violence.
Alabama's alcohol-induced death rate was 6.5 per 100,000 in 2015, which ranked fourth lowest.
Suicide deaths increased by 28 percent between 2000 and 2015 to more than 44,000 deaths (as of 2015). Rural suicide rates are 40 percent higher than in metro areas.
Alabama's suicide death rate was 15.4 per 100,000 in 2015, which ranked 26th highest.
As of 2015, more than 43 million Americans experienced a mental health issue, more than 20 million had a substance use disorder and more than 8 million experienced both – and these numbers are likely to be underestimates due to stigma and lack of available treatment; and
Only around one in 10 people with substance use disorders receive recommended treatment.
Report Calls for a National Resilience Strategy
"We're facing a generational crisis. And it calls for bigger and bolder action. Simply creating new programs to address one piece of the problem is insufficient – we need more robust and systematic change. The good news is: we know a lot about what works and can make a difference," said Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, Chief Policy Officer, Well Being Trust. "This report highlights the need for investments that take a whole-person approach to wellbeing – encompassing the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of wellbeing – to truly address the drivers of pain, ultimately saving lives."
Pain in the Nation calls for the creation of a National Resilience Strategy that takes a comprehensive approach by focusing on prevention, early identification of issues and effective treatment. The report highlights more than 60 research-based policies, practices and programs to reduce substance misuse and suicide and improve well-being.
Example State Policies and Rates: The report features more than 60 policies – the following are some example policies where state activity can be tracked
Alabama
National Trends
A "Y" means the state has a particular policy
State Law Requires Prescribers to Query the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Before Submitting an Opioid Prescription (as of 2017)
Y
37 States
State Law Allows Laypersons to Possess Naloxone Without a Prescription (as of 2017)
14 States + D.C.
State Has a Good Samaritan Law Protecting People from Reporting/Experiencing an Overdose from Liability (as of 2017)
Y
40 States + D.C.
State Has a Law Supporting Sterile Syringe Access Programs (as of 2016)
24 States + D.C.
State Has a Commercial Host Liability Law (also known as dram shop laws, which hold a seller responsible for providing alcohol to minors or intoxicated individuals, laws vary in terms of levels and types of allowed liability) (as of 2016)
37 States + D.C.
State Has a Comprehensive Anti-Bullying Laws (all states have some form of law, American Academy of Pediatrics reviewed laws for comprehensiveness) (as of July 2017)
Y
22 States
State Requires Annual Suicide Prevention Training for School Personnel (as of 2016)
9 States
Children Confirmed as Victims of Maltreatment by Child Welfare Services – Rate Per 1,000 Children. (as of 2015)
7.7
9 per 1,000
State Has an Earned Income Tax Credit (which supports better outcomes for low-income families, including boosting millions of families out of poverty) (as of 2016)
26 States + D.C.
Some key recommendations from the report include to:
Improve Pain Management and Treatment by helping people heal physically, mentally and emotionally. Approaches must acknowledge that there are different types of pain and experts from mental health, medical care and other disciplines must develop team-based solutions that focus on proactively addressing pain before it gets worse.
Stem the Opioid Crisis with a full-scale approach – including promoting responsible opioid prescribing practices (such as provider education and best practices for Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs); public education about misuse and safe disposal of unused drugs; "hotspot" intervention strategies; anti-trafficking to stop the flow of heroin, fentanyl and other illicit drugs; and expanding the use and availability of rescue drugs, sterile syringes and diversion programs.
Address the Impact of the Opioid Epidemic on Children – and the Need for a Multi-Generational Response that includes substance use disorder treatment for parents and wrap-around services for children and families, including grandparents and other relatives who help care for children, and expand support for the foster care system.
Model programs for families struggling with opioid and other substance misuse disorders have been twice as effective in helping mothers achieve sobriety, reduced state custody placement of children by half and had a return on investment of $2.22 for every $1 spent on child welfare programs.