NIDA is a biomedical research organization and does not provide personalized medical advice, treatment, counseling, or legal consultation. Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. Fentanyl is synthetic, which means it is made entirely in laboratories and has no natural ingredients. It was developed as a prescription medicine for treating severe pain, such as pain after surgery.
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Antidepressants, 1999-2023
Because drug overdose deaths often require lengthy investigations, data are updated as new information is received. For more recent provisional data, please see Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts from NCHS. Timely data related to unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths by participating jurisdiction is also available from the CDC’s State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). Similar data related to nonfatal drug overdoses are reported through CDC’s Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology (DOSE) system.
U.S. Overdose Deaths Involving Any Opioid by Sex, 1999-2023
This can raise their risk of serious or even deadly pregnancy complications. They may be available through state and local health departments, syringe services programs, or drug stores and online retailers. Fentanyl can have negative health effects, even when taken as prescribed. These effects may include confusion, drowsiness, nausea, visual disturbances, constipation, muscle stiffness, and many others. Dependence can cause extremely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if the person stops using it.
Latest from NIDA
See the impact of fentanyl uses and warnings fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on drug overdose deaths. This webpage is regularly updated to display the most recent final drug overdose death data published annually by NCHS. NCHS systems receive and analyze data from death certificates, including cause-of-death information reported by state and local medical examiners and coroners.
- Opioids are a class of drugs that include both prescription medicines such as morphine and illegal drugs like heroin.
- Another medication, lofexidine, has been approved for treatment of withdrawal symptoms.34 See “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder” for more information.
- Fentanyl is synthetic, which means it is made entirely in laboratories and has no natural ingredients.
- When used as prescribed, it is also very effective in treating cancer pain or other types of severe chronic pain that don’t respond to other pain medicines.1,2,3 Read more about opioids on the NIDA website.
- Medications are the standard treatment for fentanyl addiction.32,33 Several medications have been approved by the U.S.
Treating fentanyl addiction
- Dependence can cause extremely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if the person stops using it.
- Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation.
- Repeated fentanyl use can lead to dependence, which means that the person’s body gets used to the presence of the drug.
- NCHS systems receive and analyze data from death certificates, including cause-of-death information reported by state and local medical examiners and coroners.
- Research has found that pregnant women with untreated addiction may be less likely to get regular prenatal care.
The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.
Medications are the standard treatment for fentanyl addiction.32,33 Several medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Another medication, lofexidine, has been approved for treatment of withdrawal symptoms.34 See “Medications for Opioid Use Disorder” for more information. Opioids are a class of drugs that include both prescription medicines such as morphine and illegal drugs like heroin. The emergency and referral resources listed above are available to individuals located in the United States and are not operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
When used as prescribed, it is also very effective in treating cancer pain or other types of severe chronic pain that don’t respond to other pain medicines.1,2,3 Read more about opioids on the NIDA website. Repeated fentanyl use can lead to dependence, which means that the person’s body gets used to the presence of the drug. NIDA does not fund or assist in the collection of these data but does analyze NCHS data to create the figures and descriptions on this page. Research has found that pregnant women with untreated addiction may be less likely to get regular prenatal care.