Fatal drug overdose has reached epidemic levels in the U.S., surpassing vehicle-related deaths in 36 states, according to a new report from the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In a separate study, researchers found that drug overdoses in the United States tripled in the last 25 years.

The two-fold tragedy of the epidemic in the United States is that overdose deaths are preventable, and they often start with good intentions: Both reports concluded that increasing abuse of prescription opioid painkillers are to blame for these staggering numbers.

“Our health professionals’ well-intentioned approach to treating people’s pain can sometimes lead to unintended consequences and exposing an individual to the risk of addiction or overdose,” Dr. Hillary Kunins, …