12 OD deaths in India every week: NCRB

BENGALURU: In 2023, the latest year for which data is available, at least 12 people died every week in India on average due to drug overdose, NCRB data reveals. That is nearly two deaths daily.

Between 2019 and 2023, 3,290 deaths were attributed to the same cause, with the average for the five-year period remaining roughly the same as in 2023.What makes this data particularly sobering is what it doesn't capture. These figures represent only confirmed drug overdose deaths - they don't account for unreported cases and deaths misattributed to other causes. Also, NCRB doesn't specify if the overdose involved a narcotic substance or prescription drugs.Psychiatrists, clinicians and retired police officers TOI spoke to said there needs to be more clarity in the classification of drug overdose cases. They pointed out that in many of these cases, there could have been an overuse of prescription drugs such as sleeping pills or painkillers.The figures tell a story of volatility rather than steady decline. After recording 704 deaths in 2019, the country saw a sharp drop to 514 deaths in 2020, likely influenced by Covid-induced lockdowns.

The number of deaths surged to 737 in 2021 - the highest in the five-year period - before moderating to 681 in 2022, and 654 in 2023.Tamil Nadu dominated the statistics in the early years of this period. In 2019, it recorded 108 deaths, the highest in the country. The figure tapered to 110 in 2020, before spiking to 250 deaths in 2021. Since then, however, the state has seen a remarkable reversal. Deaths dropped to just 50 in 2022 and rose marginally to touch 65 in 2023.Punjab, sharing a porous border with Pakistan that has long been a conduit for drug trafficking, has maintained a consistently high position in the rankings. While it didn't feature among the top five states in 2019, it recorded 34 deaths in 2020. The figures more than doubled to 78 in 2021, before touching 144 in 2022 - making it the state with the maximum overdose deaths that year. In 2023, though deaths fell to 89, it still topped the national list.Rajasthan has shown a troubling consistency in terms of deaths. Starting with 60 deaths in 2019, the state's toll climbed to 92 in 2020. It reached 113 in 2021 and rose to 117 in 2022. While the deaths declined slightly to 84 in 2023, Rajasthan has remained in the top five every year, occupying second or third positions throughout the period.Madhya Pradesh wasn't among the top five in 2019 or 2020 but emerged in the list with 34 deaths in 2021. This figure was 74 in 2022 and rose again to 85 in 2023, making it the second-highest state in the most recent year.Mizoram and Manipur have appeared intermittently in the top five. Mizoram saw 30 deaths in 2020 and 61 in 2022, while Manipur saw 36 deaths in 2021. Karnataka was in top five in 2019, with 67 deaths, and in 2020, with 36.