FAF analysis found that fentanyl deaths decreased by more than 36% in 2024– the first major decrease in Fentanyl Deaths in more than 10 years
Akron, Ohio
Families Against Fentanyl, the national fentanyl awareness organization, released the following statement on new data released by the CDC today. Provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2024—a decrease of 26.9% from the 110,037 deaths estimated in 2023. The data indicated an estimated 48,422 deaths from fentanyl and synthetic opioids in the United States during 2024. A Families Against Fentanyl analysis of the data found that to be a 36.5% decrease from the 76,282 fentanyl and synthetic opioid deaths estimated in 2023.
“Fentanyl deaths decreased by more than 36 percent in 2024, the first major decrease since fentanyl poisonings began skyrocketing over the last decade. That’s a decrease of more than 27,000 deaths compared to just one year earlier. That’s 27,000 lives saved, 27,000 of our fellow Americans still here with us, and 27,000 fewer families devastated by the heartbreak of losing a loved one to fentanyl poisoning. This is incredibly encouraging news after years of record death tolls and it is a testament to all of the families, advocates, health professionals and leaders who demanded action,» said Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, the national fentanyl awareness organization.
«While this is critical progress, we must keep our foot on the gas. We’re still losing more than 130 Americans per day to fentanyl poisoning – that’s nearly 5 times the fentanyl deaths we had just 10 years ago in 2015. Imagine if we had a commercial airliner of 130 Americans dropping from the sky each day. Make no mistake, fentanyl is still a national crisis, that must be a top priority for our nation’s leaders. Nearly half a million families like mine lost loved ones to illicit fentanyl poisoning over the last ten years. However, for all the families who have fought to break the stigma and raise awareness of fentanyl poisoning, this progress is a long time coming and provides desperately- needed momentum in the fight to save lives,» added Rauh.
Year Fentanyl Deaths * 2015 9,885 2016 20,072 2017 29,459 2018 32,402 2019 37,655 2020 58,483 2021 73,208 2022 76,995 2023 76,282 2024 48,422
* Provisional predicted U.S. deaths from synthetic opioids, including drugs such as fentanyl and tramadol and excluding methadone.
Source: Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Rossen LM, Sutton P. Provisional drug overdose death counts. National Center for Health Statistics. 2025. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/20250305008
Families Against Fentanyl has praised recent Administration actions on the fentanyl crisis, including the Trump Administration’s action to close the de minimis loophole for China earlier this month. On May 2nd, President Trump closed the de minimis loophole for China, a loophole in oversight for foreign packages that has been exploited by fentanyl smugglers and led to increased American fentanyl deaths. Families Against Fentanyl is a member of the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole. Read more about Jim’s story and the de minimis loophole here and read the latest coalition letter to President Trump here.
Other recent action has included the Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution urging Congress to designate illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. Families Against Fentanyl spearheaded a petition in favor of the designation that has amassed more than 85,000 signatures. FAF’s fentanyl public service announcement is available for airing and has aired in multiple jurisdictions across the country.
Families Against Fentanyl
Families Against Fentanyl is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives by raising awareness of the illicit fentanyl crisis and advocating for federal, state and local action. FAF advocacy includes calling for a White House task force on the fentanyl and drug crisis and urging the U.S. to designate illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction as well as closing the de minimis loophole.
The organization was founded by James Rauh of Akron, Ohio after his son was killed by fentanyl poisoning in 2015. Families Against Fentanyl has become a leading voice for fentanyl awareness, bringing together thousands of families, organizing bipartisan action and briefings on Capitol Hill, and producing research cited by leaders across the United States and around the world.
