Alcohol & Substance Use

Learn about the latest news on substance use, including views on alcohol, and how fentanyl deaths are declining.

• Alcohol Awareness: April is alcohol-awareness month and an opportunity to reflect on the impacts of alcohol use and how alcohol-related deaths have increased over the last decade, with a sharp increase during early-pandemic years. A new Pew Research Center survey explores Americans’ views on the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. A majority of routine drinkers, 59%, say their alcohol use increases their risk of serious physical health problems at least a little.
• Fentanyl Deaths Declining: Recent preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates a 25% decrease in opioid overdose deaths for the 12-month period ending in October 2024, compared to the same timeframe in 2023. This is driven in large part by a reduction in the number of deaths involving fentanyl. The Wall Street Journal examines the decline in a series of charts. KFF Health News discusses how misinformation about fentanyl is impacting the overdose response.
• Federal Funding: A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from terminating a variety of public health funds that had been allocated to states during the Covid-19 pandemic, including funding that was being used to support opioid addiction and mental health treatments. The administration also closed the office that tracked alcohol-related deaths and harms and helped develop policies to reduce them.

Resources & Initiatives

• The US Surgeon General’s 2025 Advisory, Alcohol and Cancer Risk, describes the scientific evidence for the causal link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk for cancer.
• NPR dives into 8 theories from experts on why fentanyl overdose deaths are declining, including increased access to Naloxone, better public health, and the waning effects of the COVID pandemic.
• The National Academy for State Health Policy’s State Opioid Settlement Spending Decisions tracker shares state-level settlement funding decisions and priorities.
• With support from a $5.4 million Elevance Health Foundation grant, Shatterproof created an online training curriculum for healthcare professionals that aims to dispel myths and misunderstandings about substance use disorder, and promote person-centered, culturally responsive care.

Source: https://nihcm.org/newsletter/the-relationship-between-alcohol-and-health