United States

Teen Drug Overdoses More Than Doubled From 1999 to 2015: CDC

Opioids, specifically heroin, were the chief culprits in 2015, according to the report

The death rate of teens overdosing on drugs more than doubled from 1999 to 2015, NBC News reported.

There were 772 drug overdose deaths for people 15-19 years old in 2015, according to the data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is a death rate of 3.7 per 100,000.

By contrast, the death rate in 1999 was 1.6 per 100,000.

"For both male and female adolescents, the majority of drug overdose deaths in 2015 were unintentional," the CDC report states, adding that opioids, specifically heroin, were the chief culprits in 2015.

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