WHAT IS HEROIN?
What is
Heroin?
Teen Heroin Use
Although heroin use by teens is much less
than their misuse of prescription drugs and
alcohol use, it is still important to be aware
of. This article discusses statistics on teen
heroin use, as well as effects, warning signs,
and treatment for teen heroin use.
Heroin - What It Is
Heroin is an illegal (Schedule 1) narcotic,
meaning it has no currently accepted use in
medical treatment, is illegal, and has a high
risk of abuse. It is related the prescription
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medications called codeine, morphine,
Oxycontin, and Vicodin. Heroin is a
morphine derivative, stronger than its
source, and is semisynthetic. If heroin
is not available, a user may substitute
one of the other related drugs. Heroin is
physically addictive.
Teen Heroin Use Statistics
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
reported in February 2011 that in 1999
through 2007, unintentional death from
heroin use was almost flat (although
deaths from cocaine use and opioid analgesics were rising overall, which seemed
to indicate heroin use that was not increasing.
In addition, the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) from the CDC report
shows that lifetime heroin use (at least 1 time)
was at 1.7 percent for girls and 3.2 percent
for boys, less than meth use (3.3/4.7 for boys
and girls respectively), cocaine use (5.3/7.3),
notably less than prescription drug abuse
(19.8/20.4) or marijuana use (34.3/39.0), and
dramatically less than alcohol use (74.2/70.8).
But CBS reported in 2009 that heroin abuse
among teens is on the rise. The CBS report
points to its relative cheapness as a factor
in its increased use and its greater purity
(which makes it more powerful) as a factor
in the deaths it causes. They also point to a
trend towards younger users, stating that in
an unidentified survey, more 8th graders than
12 graders had tried heroin within the past 12
months.
The CBS report may be supported by the
2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services, Administration), which states
that significantly more people tried heroin
for the first time in 2009 than from 2002 to
2008 (without identifying their age). However,
the SAMHSA data shows that heroin is highly
unlikely to be the first illicit drug used by
those over age 12 who have used illicit drugs,
accounting for less than a tenth of a percent
of first time uses (marijuana accounted for
59.1%).
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Teen Heroin Use Effects
Especially because of the increased purity,
overdose is not uncommon, and can be fatal.
For those who live to go on using, heroin is
addictive, and any method of use may lead
to addiction in nearly a quarter of users, but
other effects of heroin partly depend on how
it is used. Heroin may be injected, smoked,
or inhaled through the nose. Injecting heroin
can lead to Hepatitis C or HIV and - among
chronic users - lead to collapsed veins, heart
infections, and problems with the kidneys and
liver. For the chronic user, withdrawal may be
severe and the accompanying cravings may be
dramatic. While for most people withdrawal
takes days, for some, the symptoms may last
for months, and cravings may persist for years.
Some users combine heroin with other
drugs, especially cocaine, and this can result
in other effects.
Source: www.troubledteen101.com/articles63.html