Today’s Heroin Epidemic

The latest issue of CDC’s Vital Signs includes recent data on heroin use in the United States. According to the report, heroin use has increased across the past decade among most demographic groups, with rates doubling among women and more than doubling among non-Hispanic whites. The data also show that nearly all people who reported heroin use also reported using at least one other drug in the past year, and the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled. The report provides recommendations for what the federal government, states, health care providers, and citizens can do to respond to the heroin epidemic.