“The United States experiences approximately seven drug‑overdose deaths per hour (about 175 deaths per day).” — Trump. Our verdict: Unverified.
Donald Trump made the claim on 26 October 2017, when he declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Our verdict
Unverified
We could not confirm or refute this claim. The available figures are yearly totals, not a rate for October 2017, so there is not enough public evidence to check the exact number.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
The claim comes from a White House estimate made in October 2017, reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that there were 175 drug overdose deaths a day, or seven an hour. We looked for independent records that could confirm a rate for that specific month. The CDC recorded 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2017, which works out at about 192 deaths a day, or roughly eight an hour across the whole year. That is close to the claim, but it is a yearly average, not a figure for October 2017. Because the claim is tied to a particular moment and no source gives a monthly or daily count for that time, we could not say whether it is right or wrong. If you have evidence that bears on this, please send it to us.
The evidence
3 of 4 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
The White House estimated in October 2017 that there were 175 drug overdose deaths a day, or seven an hour. This is the source of the claim, but it is an attribution rather than an independent count. [1]
- Supports the claim
The CDC recorded 70,237 total drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2017. Spread over the year, that is about 192 deaths a day, or roughly eight an hour. [2]
- Supports the claim
The CDC again confirmed 70,237 total drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2017, matching the other annual figure. [3]
- Supports the claim
The CDC reported more than 49,000 opioid overdose deaths in the United States in 2017. This is a narrower category than all drug overdose deaths. [4]
What we could not confirm
- No monthly or daily overdose death count for October 2017 was found, so the exact rate at the time of the claim could not be checked.
- The yearly average may not reflect seasonal changes, so it cannot stand in for a specific month.
- The White House figure is an attribution and was not independently verified in the sources we found.
- Provisional CDC data may undercount deaths and does not give the fine detail needed for an hourly rate.
How we checked
We looked at CDC records of annual drug overdose deaths for 2017 and at the news report of the White House estimate. We searched for any monthly or daily breakdown for October 2017 but found none. We reviewed 4 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]www.reviewjournal.com · Trump declares opioids a U.S. public health emergency
- [2]cdc.gov · Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths – United States, 2017–2018 · March 20, 2020
- [3]cdc.gov · Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2017 · November 1, 2018
- [4]cdc.gov · Using Naloxone to Reverse Opioid Overdose in the Workplace: Information for Employers and Workers | ORE | CDC
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
Measured Take updates fact checks when new evidence emerges. Corrections are noted on the page.
All fact checks