US heroin use has increased almost fivefold in a decade, study shows

Researchers say increase is seen across all social groups, ages and sexes and highlight link between misuse of prescription opioids and heroin abuse

Heroin use among American adults has increased almost fivefold in the last decade, according to a study based on a survey of almost 80,000 people.

Researchers found that just after the turn of the millennium, 0.33% of the adult population reported having used heroin at some point in their life, but 10 years later it had risen to 1.6% - a figure corresponding to about 3.8m Americans.