| Hans-Günter Meyer-Thompson | Überdosis - Drogentod
EMCDDA. Policy and practice briefings - Reducing opioid-related deaths
EMCDDA. Policy and practice briefings - Reducing opioid-related deaths
Mortality directly or indirectly related to use of opioids is a major cause of avoidable premature deaths among European adults. Overall drug-related mortality rates are 1–2 % per year among high-risk opioid users in Europe and drug overdoses account for over 7 000 deaths per annum. Other important causes of death among high-risk opioid users are infections, accidents, violence and suicide.
Key periods of increased risk follow periods of abstinence when tolerance is lost, particularly on leaving prison or abstinence-based treatment. (EMCDDA, Lissabon, November 2017)
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/best-practice/briefings/reducing-opioid-related-deaths_en