WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shatterproof is encouraged by the CDC’s preliminary data showing a third consecutive year of declines in drug overdose deaths nationwide. Every life saved matters, and these reductions reflect the impact of sustained investments in prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery support, overdose education, and expanded access to naloxone.
At the same time, nearly 70,000 lives lost to overdose in 2025 remains a public health crisis of staggering scale. What is being called progress today would have been considered a national emergency just a few years ago. We cannot mistake a decline in deaths for the end of the addiction crisis.
This progress is fragile — and it is absolutely at risk.
The overdose crisis continues to evolve rapidly, fueled by fentanyl and an increasingly dangerous illicit drug supply that now includes emerging synthetic substances such as xylazine, nitazenes, cychlorphine, and medetomidine. These substances are making overdoses more unpredictable, more difficult to reverse, and more deadly.
The recent declines show that evidence-based strategies are working. Expanded access to naloxone, increased availability of treatment, harm reduction services, telehealth, and greater public awareness are helping save lives. These are not accidental gains; they are the result of years of advocacy, investment, and public health action.
Now is not the time to scale back.
We need continued investment in prevention, early intervention, quality treatment access, recovery supports, harm reduction services, workforce development, and policies that address the stigma surrounding substance use disorder. Communities across the country still face enormous gaps in care, and some states continue to experience increases in overdose deaths.
Shatterproof also encourages individuals, families, schools, workplaces, and communities to take steps to be prepared. Naloxone can save lives, and everyone should know how to recognize and respond to an overdose emergency. Learn more and take the naloxone pledge at: https://shatterproof.org/naloxone-saves-lives
Every life lost to addiction is preventable. We owe it to families across this country to continue building a system that treats substance use disorder as the chronic health condition it is — with urgency, compassion, accountability, and sustained commitment.
This moment should not lead to complacency. It should strengthen our resolve to save more lives.
About Shatterproof
Shatterproof is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a world where addiction never defines or ends a life. Guided by its mission to transform systems, support families, and end stigma, Shatterproof advances evidence-based solutions to improve prevention, treatment, and recovery; drives policy change to strengthen addiction care and accountability; educates the public to replace stigma with understanding; and equips families with trusted resources and support. Grounded in science and rigorous measurement, Shatterproof helps people today while catalyzing lasting systems change for future generations.
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