Fewer begin with heroin

Heroin userHeroin user.Photo (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Fewer drug addicts start with heroin, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health concludes in a report published on Tuesday.

 

The report points to four findings in the research that indicate this.

Only 10 percent of new patients in specialist treatment for substance abuse problems were diagnosed with opioid addiction last year. This patient group accounts for 46 percent in total.

In a survey conducted by drug users on street level in Norwegian cities, it is stated that between 2013 and 2017 there was a sharp decline in the number of drug users injecting heroin by syringe, from 51 percent in 2013 to 32 percent in 2017.

The waiting lists for drug-assisted rehabilitation (LAR) have also become shorter. By the end of last year there were 7,622 patients in LAR, without anyone on waiting list. By comparison, in 2007, 4,542 patients received this treatment, while 298 were on waiting lists.

The number of cases where heroin is the main cause of drug-related deaths has also decreased from 50 percent to about 30 percent since 2006. At the same time, the number of deaths have remained stable.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today