Heroin

Over 11% of all opioid overdose deaths in 2021 involved heroin¹. Not only are people using heroin, but they are also using multiple other substances, including cocaine and prescription opioids. Nearly all people who use heroin also use at least one other drug².

However, from 2020 to 2021, the heroin overdose death rate decreased by nearly 32%¹. Factors that may contribute to the decrease in heroin-involved deaths include fewer people initiating heroin use³, shifts from a heroin-based market to a fentanyl-based market⁴, increased treatment provision for people using heroin, and expansion of naloxone access⁵.

Learn more about Heroin Data.

How is heroin harmful?

• Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive opioid drug.
• A heroin overdose can cause slow and shallow breathing, coma, and death.
• People often use heroin along with other drugs or alcohol. This practice is especially dangerous because it increases the risk of overdose².
• Heroin is typically injected but is also smoked and snorted. When people inject heroin, they are at risk of serious, long-term viral infections such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B, as well as bacterial infections of the skin, bloodstream, and heart⁶.