The Tennessee Department of Health reports that more people died last year from drug overdoses than in the previous year.
There were 1,166 overdose fatalities last year, an increase of 6.5 percent over the year before… and more Tennesseans died from drug overdoses last year than in motor vehicle accidents, homicides, or suicides.
Tennessee Commissioner of Health Doctor John Dreyzehner reminds the public that this month the state began allowing doctors to prescribe naloxone, which temporarily reverses the effects of opioid drugs and allows time for medical help. Naloxone can either be injected or inhaled.
The state also saw a rise in deaths from motor vehicle accidents and suicides last year: 1,008 motor vehicle deaths, compared with 958 in 2012. Suicides increased to 1,017 from 956 the prior year.
The number of homicides in Tennessee fell 11 percent last year, with a total of 405 homicides, compared with 456 in 2012.
