4 REASONS WHY SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION IS SUICIDE PREVENTION

Author: MARCEL GEMME, DATS

SUICIDE REMAINS A PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT 

Suicide remains one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. Suicide is complicated and tragic, but it is often preventable. In 2020 over 45,000 Americans died by suicide. Approximately 1.2 million Americans attempted suicide in 2020. 

SUBSTANCE USE CONTINUES TO TAKE LIVES 

Overdose remains a leading cause of death as an unintentional injury. At the end of April 2021, there were over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States. An estimated 40.3 million people have a substance use disorder. 5 million Americans used tobacco, alcohol, or an illicit drug in the past month. 

Both substance use disorders and suicide are preventable for the most part. Prevention campaigns are life-saving. Addicted.org advocates for these campaigns and has witnessed their success. In addition, we firmly believe substance use prevention is suicide prevention. These two public health problems are closely linked, and here are four significant reasons why. But first, a closer look at suicide in the United States.