A woman looks at photos of those lost to drug overdoses in Edmonton, Alberta to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st. NurPhoto via Getty Images

August 31 st is International Overdose Awareness Day , a moment to commemorate those we’ve lost and to take action to prevent further overdoses, fatal and non-fatal. Some might wonder if this is still really a major public health issue when the CDC reported a 25% decline in overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in March 2025. The short answer is yes. We’ve made strides in reducing deaths but we are far from solving this public health problem.

So, why do we still need to discuss overdose as a serious problem? First, overdose deaths are one extreme measure of a much bigger issue. It is the tip of the iceberg :

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