Addiction, harm, treatment, and policy
Give naloxone if available, call 911, and stay with the person. Follow the dispatcher’s instructions. CDC guidance on xylazine explains that naloxone reverses opioid effects, although it does not reverse xylazine itself.
CDC’s provisional estimate puts 2025 U.S. overdose deaths near 70,000, down almost 14% from 2024. What the data show, what they can’t, and what remains.
Sports betting deserves scrutiny beyond the excitement of a broadcast or the size of a promotional offer. An honest discussion must distinguish business volume, operator revenue, and evidence of harm to people.
A decline in overdose mortality is good news. Reporting it honestly strengthens the case for protecting lives; it does not weaken concern for those who are still being lost.
A substance does not become harmless because it is familiar. Alcohol deserves the same honest discussion of risk that we expect when the product is less socially accepted.
A death toll carries moral weight. That is precisely why it must be reported accurately. Mixing provisional estimates, final counts, and different reference years can turn legitimate concern into misinformation.
