Heroin Hurts

Heroin affects your brain

Heroin enters the brain quickly. It slows down the way you think, slows down reaction time, and slows down memory. This affects the way you act and make decisions.

Heroin affects your body

Heroin poses special problems for those who inject it because of the risks of HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles. These health problems can be passed on to sexual partners and newborns.

Heroin is super-addictive

Heroin is highly addictive because it enters the brain so rapidly. It particularly affects those regions of the brain responsible for producing physical dependence.

Heroin is not what it may seem

Despite the glamorization of “heroin chic” in films, fashion, and music, heroin use can have tragic consequences that extend far beyond its users. Fetal effects, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, violence, and crime are all linked to its use.

Heroin can kill you

Heroin is one of the most frequently reported drugs by medical examiners in drug abuse deaths.

Know the law

Heroin is an illegal Schedule I drug, meaning that it is in the group of the most highly addictive drugs.

Get the facts

Any method of heroin use—snorting, smoking, swallowing, or injecting the drug—can cause immediate harm and lead to addiction.

Stay informed

The untimely deaths of several popular musicians and other celebrities may have influenced many young people to stay away from heroin use, but to others, the dangers are still not clear. The average age of first use was 20.7 in 2006.

Know the risks

Because the strength of heroin varies and its impact is more unpredictable when used with alcohol or other drugs, the user never knows what might happen with the next dose

Look around you

The vast majority of teens are not using heroin. According to a 2006 national study, less than 1 percent report ever having tried it.