The rate for young adults ages 18 to 34 was significantly lower in 1997 than in 1996. Cocaine use among men was almost twice that among women. Heroin Use Estimates of lifetime heroin prevalence have ranged from 2.3 million in 1979 to 1.5 million in 1990, 2.4 million in 1996, and 2.0 million in 1997. At the same time, the proportion that had ever used heroin with a needle remained unchanged at approximately 55 percent in 1997. There is little difference among heroin users in terms of race or ethnicity.
Males are more likely than females to report heroin use during their lifetimes.
The rates of heroin use in the student population remain quite low, but they have risen significantly among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. It appears that snorting or smoking heroin, rather than injecting it, has played a role in heroin use. Despite this rise, more students over the past 2 years have been reporting heroin use as dangerous, a contrast to the erosion in those beliefs through the first half of the decade. By some measures, heroin use is growing as a problem in many cities. Rates of emergency room use related to heroin have increased significantly in eight cities participating in the CEWG network.