A new poll from the National Safety Council (NSC) shows one in three Illinois residents has been directly touched by the opioid epidemic ravaging the nation. Illinoisans may have personally known someone who has become addicted to opioids, known someone who overdosed or died from an overdose or suffered from opioid use disorder themselves. Last year, 2,350 Illinois residents died of drug overdoses, a 38 percent increase over 2014. Prescription opioids or heroin contributed to nearly 80 percent of these deaths. According to official data, more Illinoisans died from an opioid drug overdose (heroin and prescription opioids) in 2014 than from homicide or motor vehicle accidents:
- Opioid drug overdoses killed 45 percent more people than homicides
- Opioid drug overdoses killed 25 percent more people than motor vehicle crashes
- Opioid drug overdoses killed more people than people who died due to all gun-related causes (including homicide, suicide, and accidental shootings)