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Showing Original Post only (View all)Heroin deaths double after painkiller crackdown [View all]
Source: Newsnet5.com
1:18 PM, Oct 2, 2014
Heroin deaths are exploding.
Deaths from heroin overdose doubled in the United States from 2010 to 2012, according to a new report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If its your family member, the human cost is severe. This is a true public health crisis, said Michael Lyons, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati Health Center. Its not just someone elses problem.
In 2012, 3,635 people died from heroin overdose in the United States. The deaths reached across all age ranges, but more occurred in the northeast and the south. Ohio and Kentucky were among the hardest states hit.
Many people who become addicted to heroin are living a normal life until they become addicted to opiate painkillers like Morphine or Oxycontin. The increase in heroin use is due in part to cracking down on the prescription painkillers, Lyons said.
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