The Truth About Heroin Deaths

Harm minimization policies will NOT reduce heroin deaths because –

1. Heroin death victims are not young and inexperienced
2. Heroin death victims are regular and long term addicts
3. 83% of heroin death victims are male
4. Heroin death victims average age is 31 years
5. Three quarters of heroin death victims had other drugs in their blood, usually alcohol, benzodiozpines and anti-depressants
6. More than half of heroin death victims had also consumed alcohol
7. Smoking, snorting and swallowing heroin are just as dangerous as injecting heroin
8. Most heroin deaths occur in a home not in public
9. A minority of heroin deaths are instantaneous
10. Heroin death victims were using considerably less heroin in the two months preceeding death than were other addicts
11. Most heroin death victims were not in any detoxification or rehabilitation prior to death

Source: National Centre for Drug & Alcohol Research Centrelines June 2000

ADDICTS MUST BE ORDERED INTO DETOXIFICATION & REHABILITATION