A national epidemic of drug poisoning deaths began in the 1990s. Prescriptions for opioid analgesics also increased in this time frame and may have inadvertently contributed to the increases in drug poisoning deaths.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem in the United States. In 2003, there were an estimated 1,565,000 TBIs in the United States: 1,224,000 emergency department visits, 290,000 hospitalizations, and 51,000 deaths. Findings were similar to those from previous years in which rates of TBI were highest for young children (aged 0-4) and men, and the leading causes of TBI were falls and motor vehicle traffic.

Prescription drugs have replaced heroin and cocaine as the leading drugs involved in fatal drug overdoses in all urban-rural categories. Fatal drug overdoses are no longer a predominantly urban phenomenon. National prevention efforts will have to shift to address nontraditional populations using nontraditional drugs.