Letters
Deaths associated with synthetic opioids
Deadly nitazenes: a 2024 update
BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2614 (Published 25 November 2024) Cite this as: BMJ 2024;387:q2614
- Limon K Nahar, senior toxicologist,
- Rebecca Andrews, deputy head,
- Sue Paterson, head
- Toxicology Unit, Imperial College London. London W6 8RP, UK
- l.nahar{at}imperial.ac.uk
In September 2024, deaths from drug overdose in the US fell for the first time since the opioid epidemic.1 But in England and Wales, drug related deaths increased in 2023 to the highest level since 1993,2 with just under half involving an opioid.3
In England, we have seen a sharp rise in deaths involving nitazenes, a group of potent synthetic opioids. These compounds are being found in street heroin and cocaine, seized powders, counterfeit …
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