> They do, in fact, account for the falling life expectancy.

Talk is cheap. Show me the maths.

People 44 and under accounted for 62% of opioid overdose deaths in 2020.

https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/opioid-overdose-de...

The original claim was that lowered life expectancy was due to drug overdoses. Drug overdoses account for only 3% of all deaths. How much does the fact that 62% of them were under 44 move the needle?

In 2020, life expectancy was 77 years; an increase of 1% of the total number (before the increase) of deaths occurring at 44 (33 years below expectancy reduces life expectancy by 0.327-ish years on its own.

20k deaths of 70 year olds will have a lot less impact on life expectancy than the same number of deaths in 40 year olds. It's basic arithmetic.

Do you not understand how life expectancy is calculated?

Again, only 3% of all deaths are from overdoses. If you assume that all of them lived to 77 instead of 44, that would make a difference of about 1 year in total life expectancy.

That's like 20% of the difference in life expectancy with Italy already (drug related deaths in Italy are orders of magnitude less, 300 per year).

> If you assume that all of them lived to 77 instead of 44,

44 or under, not 44.