This is consistent with Ann Case and Angus Deaton's work on rising mortality rates in the US outside of major metro areas, especially among adults without college degrees. Rising all-cause mortality rates, not just suicides, have already become the rule for many of these places.
Many comments here mention opioid overdoses, and it's notable that, just as with opioid deaths and hospitalizations, rising mortality rates are distributed across almost all groups. But they are by far most severe among whites, who are in their late working years (~45-65 years old), and who live outside of major metro areas. (Education data are not included in this report but it's probably a safe bet that we are disproportionately discussing the un-degreed.)
Yet, if you look at the CDC's data on suicide methods, only a small portion of the increase is explained by drug overdose suicides. Drug suicides are up markedly, but they remain only about one-seventh of the total and one-third of the increase. Instead, the largest increase is in deaths by hanging/suffocation/strangulation, which is twice as large in raw terms as the increase in deaths by drug overdoses. Suffocation, not drug overdoses, is the main reason why non-firearms suicide deaths have become as common as firearms suicide deaths.
What does this tell us? Well, for one thing, people who suffocate themselves are frequently people who don't have access to firearms or lethal drugs - or who aren't familiar with them. Anyone who wants to understand rising rates of suicide should look especially carefully at why Americans are now suffocating themselves at a much higher rate.
Many comments here mention opioid overdoses, and it's notable that, just as with opioid deaths and hospitalizations, rising mortality rates are distributed across almost all groups. But they are by far most severe among whites, who are in their late working years (~45-65 years old), and who live outside of major metro areas. (Education data are not included in this report but it's probably a safe bet that we are disproportionately discussing the un-degreed.)
Yet, if you look at the CDC's data on suicide methods, only a small portion of the increase is explained by drug overdose suicides. Drug suicides are up markedly, but they remain only about one-seventh of the total and one-third of the increase. Instead, the largest increase is in deaths by hanging/suffocation/strangulation, which is twice as large in raw terms as the increase in deaths by drug overdoses. Suffocation, not drug overdoses, is the main reason why non-firearms suicide deaths have become as common as firearms suicide deaths.
What does this tell us? Well, for one thing, people who suffocate themselves are frequently people who don't have access to firearms or lethal drugs - or who aren't familiar with them. Anyone who wants to understand rising rates of suicide should look especially carefully at why Americans are now suffocating themselves at a much higher rate.