Hayden Panettiere’s reported fatal overdose has renewed attention on the continuing danger posed by fentanyl, despite a recent decline in US overdose deaths. Stanford psychiatrist Dr Anna Lembke said the drugs found in Panettiere’s system may have created a lethal combination, while stressing that the circumstances and source of the fentanyl remain unclear.

The Greenville County Coroner’s Office identified fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine in her system. Synthetic-opioid deaths reached 73,838 in the US in 2022, and Lembke warned that counterfeit pills containing fentanyl can kill even people without addiction, urging families to discuss drug risks and doctors to prescribe potentially addictive medicines cautiously.