Heroin treatment admissions and demographics
The average age at admission for heroin addicts is 34 years old.
The Treatment Episode Data Set by SAMHSA reports that:
- 65% are non-Hispanic White
- 15% are non-Hispanic Blacks
- 16% are of Hispanic origin
Only 14% of primary heroin admissions aged 16+ were employed, while 45% were not in labor force.
Most primary heroin admissions (80%) had been admitted into treatment prior to the current treatment episode. About 27% of current addicts who seek help for heroin addiction have been in treatment five or more times before. Maybe this is a result of recent trends involving medication-assisted therapy for heroin addicts. The proportion of heroin admissions with treatment plans that included receiving medication-assisted opioid therapy has fallen to 28%.
Treatment admissions for heroin with other substances of abuse
Persons using heroin are also abusing multiple other substances, especially cocaine and opioid pain relievers. Statistics show that more than 500.000 Americans used heroin in 2013, which represents a nearly 150% increase since 2007.
- 96% of heroin users said they used other drugs within the past year
- 61% reported using at least three different drugs
Who seeks help for heroin addiction?
More people are seeking help for heroin use problems than ever before. In fact, individuals in the age group from 18 to 25 seeking treatment for heroin abuse have increased from 11% of total admissions in 2008 to 26% in the first half of 2012.
Heroin drug addiction treatment services are continuing to grow in effectiveness. Moreover, addiction rehab programs that treat heroin withdrawal and heroin dependence are becoming more and more available for those who need them as general public awareness about the link between treatment and solving America’s heroin epidemic continues to grow.
Statistics also show that more people seek treatment for heroin use than for any other illicit drug, except marijuana.
Heroin addiction treatment questions
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Reference Sources: SAMHSA: 2003-20013 Treatment Epsiode Data Set (TEDS) National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services
CDC: Heroin Epidemic
DEA: National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary
DrugAbuse: What is the scope of heroin use in the United States
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