Heroin's use rising, costing society more than $51 billion
Last Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2021
(University of Illinois at Chicago, June 8) Heroin cost our society $51 billion in 2015, according to research out of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
How did they get that number? Researchers at the school calculated that cost by analyzing various ways heroin use can impact society. Some of the things they looked at included: the number of heroin users imprisoned, treatment costs, diseases contracted through heroin, costs of treating newborn babies who have conditions related to heroin, lost work productivity and heroin overdose deaths.
They found that each heroin user is costing society $50,799. This is significantly higher than the societal costs of chronic pulmonary disease ($2,567 per patient in 2015 dollars) and diabetes ($11,148 per patient in 2015 dollars). Read more.
How did they get that number? Researchers at the school calculated that cost by analyzing various ways heroin use can impact society. Some of the things they looked at included: the number of heroin users imprisoned, treatment costs, diseases contracted through heroin, costs of treating newborn babies who have conditions related to heroin, lost work productivity and heroin overdose deaths.
They found that each heroin user is costing society $50,799. This is significantly higher than the societal costs of chronic pulmonary disease ($2,567 per patient in 2015 dollars) and diabetes ($11,148 per patient in 2015 dollars). Read more.