Did you know?

• In 2007, unintentional drug poisoning became the leading cause of injury death in Ohio, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and suicide for the first time on record.
  
  
• Nearly all (96%) unintentional poisoning deaths are due to drugs and medications.
  
  
• From 1999 to 2007, Ohio’s death rate due to unintentional drug poisonings increased more than 300 percent, and the increase in deaths have been driven largely by prescription drug overdoses.  In Ohio, there were 327 fatal unintentional drug overdoses in 1999 growing to 1,351 annual deaths in 2007.
  
  
• Prescription opioids (pain medications) are associated with more overdoses than any other prescription or illegal drug including cocaine and heroin.
  
  
• Most of the “other/unspecified” drug deaths are associated with multiple drug use. 
  
  
• In 2007, 70% of all unintentional drug poisoning deaths involved a prescription opioid or “other/unspecified” (i.e., multiple drugs).