An interactive chart from Withdrawal.net shows just how deadly drugs and alcohol can be.
The chart maps some causes of death and shows the average age at which people die of these causes. Drug overdoses are the most common causes of accidental death among young adults, ahead of car accidents and suicide, and they claim some of the youngest victims.
The chart uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vertical axis shows the number of Americans killed every year, while the horizontal axis shows ages. The peaks of each line, marked by the dotted lines on the right, indicate the average age of people who die from each cause.
The yellow lines are alcohol-related deaths, while the orange ones are drug-related.
You can see the large, early bump for drugs. Check it out, and visit the interactive chart for more details:
Opiates — which include some prescription medications — are the deadliest category of drug, with close to 20,000 deaths per year, but alcohol kills more people than any individual drug. Heroin and cocaine rank lower on the chart than any cause of death related to alcohol.
Prescription opiates have become the biggest drug problem in the U.S.— pills are abused more widely than heroin and cocaine combined.
This post was updated to clarify what is shown on the chart.
SEE ALSO: Why Prescription Pills Are By Far The Biggest Drug Problem In America