Heroin use frequency in the European Union 2020

In 2020, 49 percent of heroin users in Europe were using the drug daily, with a further 28 percent consuming cannabis between two and six days in a week. Heroin is an opiate and is often used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects but is considered one of the most dangerous drugs in the world.

Many Europeans in treatment for Heroin use

In 2017, there were over 661 thousand people in opioid substitution treatment in Europe. The highest number of patients were in France and the UK with 178.7 and 149.2 thousand patients respectively. Heroin addiction is by far the most common reason that patients enter opioid addiction treatment in Europe, with almost 80 percent of patients in treatment in 2017 due to heroin use.

Drug deaths in Europe 

In 2017, 45 percent of those who died as a result of drug use in Europe were aged between 40 and 64 years, while 41 percent of drug deaths were among 25 to 39-year-olds. Estonia was the country in Europe with the highest incidence of drug deaths in 2017 at 130 per million population.