Heroin Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Heroin - Research Paper Example People are moving from the abuse of simple drugs to abuse of hard and more dangerous drugs (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2013). In the past alcohol and tobacco were the most abused drugs. However, recently more complex and hazardous drugs such as cocaine and heroin have gained dominance and are the most abused drugs in USA. This paper ill discuss abuse of heroin in the USA and will analyze the available statistics as well as the effects of the drug on the abuser. According to the NSDUH, the number of people using heroin in the year 2012 was about 669,000 (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). The number had increased by more than double as compared to the statistics done in 2007. Most of the drug abusers of heroin are of the ages between 18and 25. According to the research done in 2012, the number of new users was 156,000, and this indicated that the abuse of the drug was increasing at an alarming rate. The statistic done by NSBUH proved that there was a reduced abuse of the drug for people aged between eight years and twelve years (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). A report by the WHO showed that, the numbers of people who were admitted in USA hospitals due to heroin abuse was alarming. According to their research done in 2002, the found out that the number of admitted people due to heroin abuse was 214,000. A follow-up research done in 2012 proved that the number of hospitalized people had grown by 50%. This statistic was interpreted to mean that heroin use had doubled in a period of ten years. Previously, heroin abuse was only in urban areas but recently it has spread to rural areas. 11% of all the heroin abusers in 2012 were all from rural communities such as St Louis and Chicago (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). Frequent us of heroine leads to addiction which is a very challenging to stop the habit. Any attempts to quit abuse of heroin leads to the patient experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. The extent to