Heroin deaths are on the rise for the first time since 2009, based on the latest figures.
The Health Research Board (HRB) said the number of fatal heroin overdoses in 2013 was one third more than that recorded in 2012, jumping from 64 to 86.
Also, there were separate warnings from a drugs charity that heroin deaths would increase further, as heroin from a bumper crop of opium in 2013 only began hitting the streets this year.
The HRB’s National Drug-Related Deaths Index 2013 report shows that 679 people died from drugs, directly or indirectly, in that year.
The deaths resulted from poisonings (overdoses), as well as trauma (such as hanging), and medical causes (such as cardiac arrest or respiratory failure).
The toll for 2013 is the highest number of deaths since the index began in 2004, when there were just 432 deaths.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Exxaminer, 16/12/15
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