¹Causes of death attributable to drug-induced mortality under ICD–9 include drug psychoses (292); drug dependence (304); nondependent use of drugs not including alcohol and tobacco (305.2–305.9); accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments, and biologicals (E850–E858); suicide by drugs, medicaments, and biologicals (E950.0–E950.5); assault from poisoning by drugs and medicaments (E962.0); and poisoning by drugs, medicaments, and biologicals, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted (E980.0–E980.5). Drug-induced causes exclude accidents, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to drug use. Also excluded are newborn deaths associated with mothers’ drug use.

²In 1999, cause of death coding was revised to ICD–10. Modified figures for 1998 were calculated based on comparability ratios for druginduced deaths according to ICD–9 and ICD–10. The new coding scheme yields 19.5 percent more drug-induced deaths compared to the old system using 1998 data. The implementation of ICD–10 represents a break in the trend data.

³Black is a subgroup of “all non-white.”

Sources: Murphy, S.L. “Deaths: Final Data for 1998.” National Vital Statistics Reports, 48 (11) Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics (2000) for 1979–1998 ICD–9 data; Hoyert, D.L., Arias, E., Smith, B.L., et al., “Deaths: Final Data for 1999,” National Vital Statistics Reports, 49 (8), Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics (2001) for 1998–1999 ICD–10 data; and Minino, A.M., Arias, E., Kochanek, K.D., Murphy, S.L., and Smith, B.L., “Deaths: Final Data for 2000,” National Vital Statistics Reports, 50 (15) Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics (2002).