Lamont: CT overdose deaths fell 26% in 2024, third-straight yearly decline
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Overdose deaths in the state fell 26% in 2024, the third-straight annual decline, according to data from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).
Gov. Ned Lamont announced the preliminary figures from DPH in a news release Monday, citing the state’s efforts to expand access to and availability of life-saving medication, as well as public education and harm reduction efforts.
Data from the DPH Drug Overdose Report found there were 990 confirmed drug overdose deaths in 2024, down from 1,338 in 2023. That continued a downward trend of overdose deaths over the last three years.
About 76% of the deaths involved fentanyl, the report showed.
“Let there be no doubt — the opioid crisis remains a very serious public health issue,” Lamont said. “The 990 individuals we lost in 2024 to overdose is far too many of our family, friends and loved ones to take a victory lap or celebrate when there is still so much more work to do.”
Still, he said the data is moving in the right direction, thanks to “the robust efforts taken to saturate the state with naloxone and train the community on its lifesaving administration, as well as enhance public awareness of the risks associated with drugs like fentanyl.”
The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) established the Opioid Services Division in 2018 in response to the growing overdose crisis.
DMHAS has secured funding from the federal government, including the State Opioid Response grant. The division manages projects and initiatives that resulted from infusion of grant funding, as well as those approved by the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee.
The 2024 improvements included:
- Adding three original Harm Reduction Centers in municipalities with highest morbidity rates: Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and New London.
- Adding outreach services via Peer Navigator Programs in two areas of the state, and
- Distributing close to 60,000 naloxone kits, exceeding the state saturation goal for the year.
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