Heroin alone was involved in 22.6% of the 168 fatal overdose cases in 2006, in 29.2% of the 192 cases observed in 2007 and in 28.5% of the 217 cases in 2008, according to an annual survey entitled Deaths in relationship with drug and substance abuse (Dramas).
The French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) has also observed a large difference in the concentration of pure heroin between the various powders in circulation.
The percentages of pure heroin can vary from zero to more than 60% without any physical characteristic, such as color for example, being able to indicate these differences in composition.
The share of heroin samples dosed at more than 30% is also increasing. Usually, circulating heroin samples tend to show concentrations in the order of 10%.
These differences in concentration lead to an increased risk for users of consuming, without knowing it, products highly concentrated in heroin. This would lead to a further rise in fatal overdose.
The latter can occur via different modes of consumption, by injection or by “sniffing”. The risk of overdose is even higher in people who use heroin occasionally or for the first time.