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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" official-portrait/6bf029c158b50f6bf01d20a829d8828c.jpg\\") ![](\\" official-portrait/de43154da15e43e00eea6e32aec9a166.jpg\\") Rob Portman stated on May 17, 2016 in a radio interview: Ohio is \"probably top five in the country, sadly, in terms of heroin overdoses. It’s now exceeded car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in Ohio.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Ohio * Drugs * Health Care * Rob Portman ![\\"Readers](\\" pills/395ec9fd89a672a0479703bf033d0f23.jpg\\") Readers had questions about Medicare after we reviewed a comment on the program from Sen. Rob Portman. We provide some answers. By Nadia Pflaum May 23, 2016 # Portman: Drug overdoses \'exceeded car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in Ohio\' Here’s something on which liberals and conservatives can agree: Heroin is bad. The epidemic of drug overdoses has captured media attention on a national scale, and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is using it to his political advantage. The Republican senator, up for re-election in a tight race, has taken to every platform to push his proposed anecdote, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. The measure, which provides funding for a range of addiction prevention and treatment services, passed in the Senate on March 10. Since then, Portman has spoken about the issue weekly on the Senate floor, on national news networks, and on syndicated radio with pundit Hugh Hewitt. As Hewitt’s guest May 17, Portman said, \"We’re probably top five in the country, sadly, in terms of heroin overdoses. It’s now exceeded car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in Ohio.\" The epidemic seems like it can’t be overstated. But Portman did just that with the omission of a couple of key words. We checked with the Portman campaign, and they linked us to an Ohio Health Department report, 2014 Ohio Drug Overdose Data: General Findings, which counted 2,531 unintentional drug overdoses in 2014, the highest number on record for Ohio. The report said that opioids (prescribed drugs, heroin and fentanyl) were the driving factor behind unintentional drug overdoses in Ohio. The very first line of the report explores how that stacks up to other injury- related deaths. It reads, \"Unintentional drug overdose continued to be the leading cause of injury-related death in Ohio in 2014, ahead of motor vehicle traffic crashes — a trend which began in 2007.\" According to Melanie Amato, the department’s spokesperson, the categorization of \"injury-related\" deaths includes incidents such as fatal falls, car accidents, drownings, homicides, and unintentional overdoses. \"Injury-related\" is an important distinction. There are a lot of ways to die that aren’t classified as injury-related. Portman is missing those two key words. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 6, 2024 in in social media posts Haitian immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 9, 2024 We found data from the Centers for Disease Control that determine actual leading cause of death in Ohio in 2014. We made this chart using the agency’s mortality statistics: ![\\"bar](\\" -- Yb_5jX4_RhjBl_WVqCiu0iHDSllTJoyjkDfDaw3CQqp59eYjl8iCLvlMRVB5njHJHjYEwUSbOddw\\"/) (Amato explained that the CDC’s number of drug deaths is higher than the health department’s by 213 deaths because the CDC’s definition of \"drug poisoning\" doesn’t distinguish between intentional and unintentional overdoses. The Ohio Department of Health counts intentional overdoses separately, as suicides.) Nationally, CDC data shows that Ohio ranks fifth for states with the most heroin overdose deaths, behind West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire and Kentucky. That means Portman was right about the Buckeye State being in the top five. Portman has used the comparison between lethal overdoses and car crashes before. We scoured his press releases and videotaped statements for other references to the statistic, and found it in at least two more places. Portman got it right on April 7, on the Senate floor, when he said, \"Since 2007, drug overdoses have killed more people in Ohio than any other cause of accidental death, surpassing car accidents.\" But another occasion in the Senate, on May 12, he again said, \"The No. 1 cause of death now in my home state of Ohio is not car accidents anymore. It is overdoses. It’s overdoses from prescription drugs and heroin.\" Our ruling Portman said Ohio is \"probably top five in the country, sadly, in terms of heroin overdoses. It’s now exceeded car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in Ohio.\" He has a point about Ohio having the fifth-most drug overdose deaths in the nation for 2014. But he forgot two key words that make an important distinction about the types of deaths he is counting: \"injury related.\" CDC data shows that when you count long-term health problems such as cancer and heart disease, drug poisoning is eighth on the list of things killing Ohioans. We rate this claim Half True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Interview, Melanie Amato, spokesperson for the Ohio Dept of Health, May 19, 2016 Report, \"2014 Ohio Final Overdose Data: General Findings,\" Ohio Department of Health Website, \"States with the biggest drug overdose problem,\" Healthgrove.com, Feb. 19, 2016 Website, \"Stats of the State of Ohio,\" National Center for Health Statistics, May 18, 2016 CNN article, \"Drug overdose deaths reach all-time high,\" CNN, Dec. 18, 2015 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Nadia Pflaum ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 29, 2016 in an image shared on social media from NaturalNews.com: As the number of vaccines administered to children has increased in the United States, so has the autism rate. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • August 29, 2016 ![](\\" mugs-donkey/ac9cfb0dcf8dcb50888edccc72adfae6.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-donkey/1b0a94aa5ab4fad0c38136fe7c2770e3.jpg\\") Ohio Democratic Party stated on August 12, 2016 in an online ad campaign, \"The Portman Files\": \"Who would sign up to speak for a (Haitian) dictator? Rob Portman.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • August 23, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 15, 2016 in viral image circulating on the internet: Says there were multiple instances of voter fraud in Wood County, Ohio. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • August 16, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ohio Republican Party stated on October 28, 2016 in a campaign mailer: \"Casey Weinstein: No faith in our military\" ... \"When some of our cadets wanted to watch a religious film, Casey Weinstein sued the U.S. military. Sued our soldiers?\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • November 7, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on September 30, 2016 in an online article: \"Tens of thousands of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • November 1, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on October 22, 2016 in a rally outside Cleveland: Says Ohio’s I-X Center \"used to be a great plant,\" but \"thousands of people of worked here, and they left\" when their jobs were moved overseas. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • October 31, 2016 ![](\\" official-portrait/6bf029c158b50f6bf01d20a829d8828c.jpg\\") ![](\\" official-portrait/de43154da15e43e00eea6e32aec9a166.jpg\\") Rob Portman stated on October 20, 2016 in the Ohio Senate debate: Says Ted Strickland \"in this campaign bragged about his A-plus rating with the NRA. ... He has said he has a mixed and spotty record on this issue and that he can be criticized for it. Those are his words, not mine. So I don’t know where he is on this issue.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • October 21, 2016 ![](\\" official-portrait/6bf029c158b50f6bf01d20a829d8828c.jpg\\") ![](\\" official-portrait/de43154da15e43e00eea6e32aec9a166.jpg\\") Rob Portman stated on October 17, 2016 in at a debate in Columbus, Ohio: Says Sen. Rob Portman says Ted Strickland earned $400,000 a year as a lobbyist after leaving Ohio for Washington. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • October 20, 2016 ![](\\" ted-strickland____/81c1b4baa950ba5965a5fdfc754ff5f9.jpg\\") ![](\\" ted-strickland____/786d3a8b57ebc4eca1b06825b7524ad1.jpg\\") Ted Strickland stated on October 14, 2016 in in a Ohio senatorial candidate debate: Says Sen. Rob Portman said, \"It would be irresponsible not to cut Medicare.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • October 20, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" ClearPath Action Fund stated on September 28, 2016 in a campaign ad: Says \"Rob Portman voted for the bipartisan bill to affirm climate change is real, humans significantly contribute to it and it needs to be addressed.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • October 10, 2016 ![](\\" ted-strickland____/81c1b4baa950ba5965a5fdfc754ff5f9.jpg\\") ![](\\" ted-strickland____/786d3a8b57ebc4eca1b06825b7524ad1.jpg\\") Ted Strickland stated on September 21, 2016 in a campaign ad: Says Rob Portman \"even voted to allow people on the terrorism watch list to buy guns.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • September 29, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 8, 2016 in a rally in Cleveland: \"We spend more per student than almost any other major country in the world.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • September 21, 2016 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup____________________/41dfed38296fe3f48d11ff286b0da1cc.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup____________________/df4eaf56ef02f0fe8dcb1410d3a2d2a7.jpg\\") American Unity PAC stated on August 30, 2016 in a campaign ad: Says Ted Strickland supported giving $150 billion to Iranian regime that persecutes women, Christians and gays. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • September 15, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated on August 12, 2016 in a campaign ad : \"As governor, Ted Strickland left only 89 cents in Ohio’s rainy day fund.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • September 8, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" National Republican Senatorial Committee stated on August 18, 2016 in \"Flush,\" a campaign ad : \"And while (Ted) Strickland proposed cuts for services for children, he wasted over $250,000 remodeling his bathrooms at the governor’s mansion.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • September 1, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 29, 2016 in an image shared on social media from NaturalNews.com: As the number of vaccines administered to children has increased in the United States, so has the autism rate. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • August 29, 2016 ![](\\" mugs-donkey/ac9cfb0dcf8dcb50888edccc72adfae6.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-donkey/1b0a94aa5ab4fad0c38136fe7c2770e3.jpg\\") Ohio Democratic Party stated on August 12, 2016 in an online ad campaign, \"The Portman Files\": \"Who would sign up to speak for a (Haitian) dictator? Rob Portman.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • August 23, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 15, 2016 in viral image circulating on the internet: Says there were multiple instances of voter fraud in Wood County, Ohio. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • August 16, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ohio Republican Party stated on October 28, 2016 in a campaign mailer: \"Casey Weinstein: No faith in our military\" ... \"When some of our cadets wanted to watch a religious film, Casey Weinstein sued the U.S. military. Sued our soldiers?\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • November 7, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on September 30, 2016 in an online article: \"Tens of thousands of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Nadia Pflaum • November 1, 2016 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on October 22, 2016 in a rally outside Cleveland: Says Ohio’s I-X Center \"used to be a great plant,\" but \"thousands of people of worked here, and they left\" when their jobs were moved overseas. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Nadia Pflaum • October 31, 2016 ### Portman: Drug overdoses \'exceeded car accidents as the No. 1 cause of death in Ohio\' * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 30, 2024 in a Threads post: Image shows a photo of former President Donald Trump wading through floodwater after Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 2, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, PA: Kamala Harris \"let in the 13,099 convicted murderers and opposes all efforts to find them and to remove them.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • October 2, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Georgia coach Kirby Smart\'s family ends relationship with Taylor Swift: ‘We do not support her endorsement.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 20, 2024 in a Facebook post: “TD Jakes MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHES: The search for the renowned bishop begins!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 29, 2024 in X posts: A biolab caught fire in Georgia right before the 2024 election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania: Vice President Kamala Harris “even wants to legalize fentanyl.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" House Majority PAC stated on September 9, 2024 in a television ad: Laurie Buckhout is “trying to get to Congress to pass a national abortion ban, allowing politicians to ban abortions with no exceptions and prosecute women if they get an abortion, treating women right here like criminals.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: “Less than three months ago, Kamala Harris and her administration blocked 300,000 unvetted Haitian migrants from being deported out of our country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 30, 2024 in an X post: Photo shows President Joe Biden lounging on the beach \"while towns all over America were being wiped out” by Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts: “Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 30, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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Heroin overdoses are the No 1 cause of death in Ohio ahead of car crashes