30%

Decline in death rates from accidents, such as fires, falls and car crashes, among youths age 19 or younger between 2000 and 2009. Still, more than 9,000 American children died in 2009 as a result of unintentional injuries. Some causes continue to rise: suffocation deaths increased 54% in babies under 1, and poisonings soared 91%  among teens aged 15-19, largely due to prescription drug overdoses. “As horrible as these numbers are, the facts are even more troubling and difficult to accept when you consider that most of these events are predictable and preventable,” said Ileana Arias, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [via CDC]

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