What Is the Significance of the Problem?
The increase in purity and the reduction in cost of heroin have given rise to new populations of heroin addicts, including many from the middle class, as heroin is now easier to use by non-injection routes, such as snorting and smoking. An overdose can occur via any route of administration.
Emergency room admissions involving heroin have risen sharply from 36,000 in 1991 to 72,000 in 1995, and then to 90,287 in 2000, as have overdose deaths during the same period. Heroin is among the three most frequently cited drugs, along with cocaine and alcohol in combination with other drugs, in national mentions of drug-related deaths.
In addition, as use increases (or if the purity should again decrease), some non-injection heroin users may switch to the injection route. A rise in injection drug use will likely have a significant impact on the incidence of HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, and other infectious diseases.
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