Day: January 16, 2019

Drop in Life Expectancy

They were victims of two tragedies – drug overdoses and homicides – now so prevalent in Philadelphia that they’ve helped drive down life expectancy in the nation’s sixth largest city.

Premature deaths have been increasing since 2015, according to the report released this month by the Philadelphia department of public health. Life expectancy began to fall after 2014, the city says. For men, it was 72.4 in 2017, down from 73.2 in 2013. Women had a longer life expectancy at 79.7, but that number has stopped improving.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/16/can-philadelphia-stop-people-from-dying-as-drug-crisis-and-gun-violence-rage-on

By Erin Durkin

Rise in Cocaine and Fentanyl Deaths

“It is worth warning people at nightclubs who might use cocaine recreationally about the possibility of fentanyl contamination,” opioids program manager Kendra Viner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health told BuzzFeed News. But overall, only about 2% of seized cocaine vials in Philadelphia are contaminated by fentanyl.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/cocaine-meth-overdose-wave

By Dan Vergano