Fewer people started using heroin in 2017, despite overdoses and persistent deaths

TThe number of people who started using heroin for the first time fell by more than 50% between 2016 and 2017, according to new government data released Friday, while opioid deaths have overall not slowed down.

It is estimated that 81,000 people started using heroin for the first time in 2017, up from more than 170,000 in 2016. The majority of users were between the ages of 18 and 25, including 46,000 in 2017.

The data, released Friday, is part of an annual survey of drug use by the Addiction and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. The survey examines drug use among people aged 12 and over in the United States.

The latest figures could indicate progress in the opioid crisis if the downward trend continues. But a similar reduction occurred from 2014 to 2015, when the number of people who started using heroin dropped from 212,000 to 135,000, before rising again in 2016.

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"One should be cautious in interpreting fluctuations in the number of heroin addicts in a single year, as the relatively small number of recent insiders per year may contribute to these fluctuations," the report authors wrote.

According to the survey, of the 2.1 million people in the United States who are opioid dependent, 652,000 are addicted to heroin and the rest are addicted to prescription pain medications. Heroin addictions tend to occur after the first person has become addicted to prescription painkillers as a result of an injury or treatment for chronic pain. Heroin affects the brain in a similar way and is inexpensive and easy to access in the United States.

Public health officials are battling the crisis that has killed more than 40,000 people in 2017. Most deaths are due to fentanyl, a lab-made opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. People who use heroin or other drugs such as cocaine often do not know that it has been associated with fentanyl.

The Trump administration said it considered the opioid crisis a public health priority. The Senate is expected to vote next week on a large-scale bill that would encourage the development of additional treatments and give law enforcement officials more tools to fight drug smuggling. unlawful.