DPH, OSUS Highlight CDC Data Showing Expected Decline in Overdose Deaths

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 27, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Health joins the South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, through its Office of Substance Use Services (OSUS), in recognizing a predicted decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States and South Carolina in 2024. This encouraging trend is based on new provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The two agencies also called attention to the need for continued work to further reduce overdose deaths and educate the public on substance use.

The latest provisional data release from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Systems predicts 1,475 overdose deaths in South Carolina for 2024, marking a 33% decline from 2023. Nationally, the data predict 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2024. The provisional data reflects a national decrease of nearly 27% from the 110,037 deaths estimated in 2023. Predicted provisional counts represent estimates of the number of deaths adjusted for incomplete reporting.

DPH recently reported South Carolina’s first decline in overdose deaths in 10 years in 2023, with a 6.1% decrease from the 2,296 drug overdose deaths in 2022.

“Partners across our state have worked tirelessly to prevent overdoses and tackle substance misuse in the face of the opioid overdose epidemic. The data is starting to show the impact of these programs and efforts,” said Interim DPH Director Dr. Edward Simmer. “While we welcome the success these efforts have made in reducing the number of overdose deaths in our state, we also recognize that one overdose death is too many, and there is still much more progress to be made.”

Nationally, including South Carolina, the synthetic opioid fentanyl continues to be largely responsible for a vast number of overdose deaths. Fentanyl was involved in 1,550 of the state’s 2,157 overdose deaths in 2023.

DPH and OSUS remind all South Carolinians that resources are available for anyone experiencing substance use issues.

“Reducing the number of overdose deaths in South Carolina reflects a collaborative and cohesive approach,” said OSUS Interim Director Sara Goldsby. “OSUS, DPH, and many partners across the state have been working hand in hand to increase access to the opioid-antidote medication naloxone, which has been instrumental in providing a second chance to South Carolinians who experience an opioid overdose.”

In addition to efforts to increase access to harm reduction supplies, expanding linkage to care through warm handoff programs and peer recovery services in clinical settings have been a critical tool in South Carolina’s efforts to lower the number of overdose deaths in the state. 

DPH also offers Opioid Overdose (OD) Safety Kits at health departments across the state. Each kit contains two doses of naloxone, five fentanyl test strips, five xylazine test strips, educational materials on how to use everything included and guidance for how to identify an opioid overdose. Kits are available in English and Spanish.

The naloxone in the kits is a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, potentially saving a person’s life. The fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that can detect the presence of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, in different types of drugs. Xylazine test strips can detect the presence of xylazine, which is a harmful sedative that can create painful wounds on the body and can also cause death. Fentanyl and Xylazine are sometimes added to the drug supply without the user’s knowledge as a means to increase drug volume, profitability, and potency; this makes the drug more dangerous to potential users.

Call your local DPH health department to check the availability of Opioid OD Safety Kits before pick up. The safety kits are free, and you are not required to answer any questions.

To find free naloxone doses and fentanyl test strips available at other Community Distributors, visit justplainkillers.com. For services to treat addiction, visit daodas.sc.gov or embracerecoverysc.com. 

###