2000 MMWR articles are embargoed until 4 p.m. E.S.T. Thursdays. Heroin is cheap and readily available. Heroin users are most at risk of overdose when they resume using the drug after having stopped for a period of time. Regular heroin users develop tolerance to higher doses. If they stop, and then resume using heroin, doses that were previously well-tolerated can cause overdose.
All overdose deaths are preventable.
A wide range of community actions being utilized in the United States and abroad can be effective to prevent heroin overdose. Unintentional opiate overdose deaths are a serious, but preventable public health problem. Last year there were 110 deaths, more than double the 47 deaths in 1990. Most of these overdose deaths were the result of heroin injection. Close collaboration between public health agencies, public safety officials, drug treatment services, street outreach services and IDUs is the key to preventing overdose deaths.