U.S. heroin deaths nearly quadrupled in the last decade

(Image credit: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

published 7 July 2015

America's heroin epidemic has reached new highs. Heroin use in America has increased by more than 150 percent since 2007, and the drug now has at least half a million users, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. The gender gap and the race gap in heroin use are also narrowing: Women and white Americans experienced the biggest increases in users, and young adults aged 18-25 were also particularly vulnerable — heroin use in that age group has more than doubled.

Heroin overdose deaths are also on the rise. In 2013, more than 8,200 people died from heroin in the U.S; In 2001, that count was only 1,800. CDC researchers suspect the increase in heroin overdose deaths is linked to the fact that many people using heroin are also using other substances, such as cocaine and painkillers.

More broadly, heroin's resurgence is connected to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, particularly opioid painkiller use, Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the CDC, told NPR. People addicted to prescription opiates are essentially "primed" for a heroin addiction and are 40 times more likely to become dependent on heroin, and since heroin is far cheaper than prescription painkillers, many users unfortunately end up making the switch.