President Trump suspended tariffs intended to stop fentanyl from entering the United States. Here’s what to know about the opioid.
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it would suspend recently imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for about a month. The tariffs were intended to thwart the flow of fentanyl into the United States and dampen life-threatening overdoses tied to the drug.
The news has thrust fentanyl, a drug that’s been at the forefront of the opioid epidemic, into the spotlight and resurfaced questions about its dangers.
More than 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2023, and nearly 70 percent of those deaths were caused by fentanyl and other opioids, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Provisional C.D.C. data through September of last year indicate that deaths caused by fentanyl have been falling for months. Yet many people know someone who has died because of fentanyl, said Dr. Daniel Colby, medical director of the emergency medicine department at the University of California, Davis. “And I think that’s causing a lot of concern.”
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, which means it’s created in a laboratory with chemicals, said Dr. David Fiellin, the director of the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine.
The drug, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical use, is offered to relieve pain, Dr. Colby said. It could be given to someone who visits the E.R. after breaking a bone, for instance, or while a patient undergoes an invasive surgery, he said.