A shocking new study from the federal government reveals the ongoing epidemic of heroin deaths in the United States has seen the death rate from heroin overdoses nearly triple between 2010 and 2013.
It also showed that younger white males have replaced middle-aged and older black men as the most common victims of this upsurge in deaths caused by heroin overdoses, said the National Center for Health Statistics.
Overall, there were 43,982 drug overdose deaths in 2013, making them the top injury-related killer in the U.S. Of this total, 16,235 involved opioids such as Vicodin and OxyContin and 8,257 were caused by heroin, reported The Washington Post.
The death rate grew to 2.7 for every 100,000 in 2013 from 1 for every 100,000 people in 2010. It rose much more slowly over the previous 10 years.
White males between the ages of 18 and 44 became the biggest demographic group involved in heroin overdose deaths over the 13 years covered by the study. Their death rate of 7 per 100,000 surpassed the 5 per 100,000 rate for black men that were the most frequent victims of drug deaths in 2000.
Not surprisingly, the death rate for men was nearly four times as high as it was for women.
The Midwest also passed the Northeast and the West as the region with the highest death rate among heroin users.
The sharp spike in heroin deaths coincided with curbs on abuse of opioid analgesics or painkillers established about the same time. The cheaper price of heroin also increased its popularity.
During the period covered by the study, health authorities cracked down on pill mills and required reformulation of the prescription medications to make them more difficult to use recreationally.
The death rate from opioids such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Demerol fell slightly from 5.1 per 100,000 people to 5.4 per 100,000 people between 2010 and 2013.