Relative scope of the problem: opioids vs. alcohol
Data for opioid misuse, alcohol use, OUD, and AUD are from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2019). Data for opioid- and alcohol-related emergency department visits are from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD (www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/nedsoverview.jsp) and White et al. (2018). Data for for opioid overdose deaths and combined alcohol + opioid overdose deaths are from Hedegaard et al. (2020). Data for alcohol-related deaths are from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/ARDI).
| Opioids | Alcohol |
|---|---|
| Misuse: 10,250,000a | Use: 179,289,000 |
| % of population: 3.7% | % of population: 65.5% |
| Opioid use disorder: 2,028,000 | Alcohol use disorder: 14,818,000 |
| % of population: 0.7% | % of population: 5.4% |
| Emergency department visits | Emergency department visits |
| Primary reason: 408,079 | Primary reason: 1,714,757 |
| All opioid-related: 1,461,770 | All alcohol-related: 4,936,690 |
| Deaths | Deaths |
| Total overdoses: 46,802 | Total deaths: ∼95,000 |
| Prescription opioids: 14,975 | Acute overdose/injury: 44,080 |
| Fentanyl and similar: 31,335 | Chronic liver/cancer: 51,078 |
| Heroin: 14,996 | |
| Opioid + alcohol-related deaths: 7143b | |