Drug OD update – Heroin Overdoses on the Rise… A recently released study showed that from 2010 to 2015 the number of heroin overdoses more than quadrupled.
The rise is linked to the lower cost of heroin cost and the increase in its potency. With the price of obtaining prescription opiates on the rise and the restrictions on getting them, people are also turning to heroin as a cheaper alternative.
Heroin use has been increasing in recent years among men and women, most age groups, and all income levels. Some of the greatest increases have occurred in demographic groups with historically low rates of heroin use: women, the privately insured, and people with higher incomes. In particular, heroin use has more than doubled in the past decade among young adults aged 18 to 25 years.
As heroin use has increased, so have heroin-related overdose deaths:
- Heroin-related overdose deaths have more than quadrupled since 2010.
- From 2014 to 2015, heroin overdose death rates increased by 20.6%, with nearly 13,000 people dying in 2015.
- In 2015, males aged 25-44 had the highest heroin death rate at 13.2 per 100,000, which was an increase of 22.2% from 2014.
