Rhode Island has the ninth-highest rate of deaths in the nation from drugs, alcohol and suicides, according to a report released Tuesday by the Washington-based nonprofit, Trust for America’s Health.
Drug-related overdoses are the biggest driver, followed by alcohol, the report found. The state’s suicide rate also has climbed, but remains below the national average as of 2015, the most recent available data.
Rhode Island’s rate of deaths from drugs, alcohol and suicide is 54.5 per 100,000 residents — second-highest rate in New England after New Hampshire, according to the report, Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy.
Nationally, 127,500 people died from drugs, alcohol and suicide in 2015, the report said. That’s about 350 people per day, on average, or one death every four minutes.
“These numbers are staggering, tragic – and preventable,’’ John Auerbach, president and chief executive officer of Trust for America’s Health, said in a statement. “Solutions,’’ he said, “must go way beyond reducing the supply of opioids, other drugs and alcohol….to address the underlying issues of pain, hopelessness and despair.”
In Rhode Island, the rate of fatal drug overdoses climbed more than 700 percent between 2000 and 2015, the report said. The rate of alcohol-related deaths in the state also more than doubled during that period. The suicide rate climbed 56 percent, but remains below the national average.
The report calls for greater investments nationally in programs to treat substance abuse, mental health as well as physical pain to save lives.
New England Drugs, Alcohol and Suicide Death Rates
(national ranking)
- New Hampshire (5th)
- Rhode Island (9th)
- Maine (12th)
- Vermont (17th)
- Massachusetts (23rd)
- Connecticut (27th)
