America’s opioid problem is so bad it’s cutting into U.S. life expectancy

(The Washington Post, September 20) While the average life expectancy in the United States has increased between 2000 and 2015, the rise in opioid-related deaths reduced the gains about 2.5 months, according to recent analysis.
 

The average American life expectancy for someone born in 2010 was 76.8 years. It grew to 78.8 years in 2015, but opioid-related deaths hindered that growth about 0.21 years.
 

There were no other factors that negatively affected life expectancy more. Read more.