Poll shows more issues with heroin, fewer with pain pills
Health News

Poll shows more issues with heroin, fewer with pain pills


The latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll backs up law-enforcement opinion that Kentucky's metropolitan areas are experiencing increased problems with heroin use as misuse of prescription pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and codeine is declining.

The poll found 11 percent of Kentucky adults reported having family and friends who have had issues with heroin, up from 9 percent in 2013. Regionally, the figures were 26 percent in Northern Kentucky; 13 percent in the Louisville area; 11 percent in the Lexington area; 8 percent in Eastern Kentucky and 7 percent in Western Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Twenty-four percent of Kentuckians reported knowing a family member of friend who had problems as a result of prescription pain reliever abuse, down from 32 percent in 2011. The margin of error for the poll of 1,597 randomly selected adults is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, applicable to each number.

People from 18 to 29 are most likely to have a friend or family member who has experienced problems related to drug use, according to a release from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsors the survey.

"Kentucky ranks fifth in the nation for drug overdose deaths, behind only West Virginia, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico," the release said. "Drug overdose deaths per capita have quadrupled since 1999, surpassing motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in Kentucky."

The poll was conducted between Oct. 8 and Nov. 6 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati.




- Poll Illustrates How Having Insurance And Access To A Health Care Provider Doesn't Mean You Can Afford The Care
Just because a person has appropriate access to a health care provider doesn't mean they can afford to pay for their services, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll. The poll found that three out of every four Kentuckians with health...

- Most Kentucky Adults Don't Know That Drug Overdose Is The Leading Cause Of Death In The State, But Those In The East Do
Drug overdoses, driven largely by prescription drug abuse, overtook motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in Kentucky back in 2010 and remain the state's leading cause of death. From 2000 to 2010, the number of drug-overdose...

- Poll Shows Depth Of Prescription Drug Abuse In Kentucky
By Molly Burchett and Al Cross Kentucky Health News One-third of Kentucky adults have friends or relatives who have experienced problems from abusing prescription pain relievers, and 8 percent have used pain medicine when it wasn't prescribed or for...

- 4 Of 5 Kentuckians Think Child Obesity Is A Problem, And More Than Half Favor A Statewide Smoking Ban, Poll Finds
More than four out of five Kentuckians think too many children are overweight, and more than half want a statewide smoking ban. These are two of key findings of the Kentucky Health Issues Poll, which also asked respondents about prescription drug abuse,...

- Nearly 1 In 3 Kentuckians Say They Know A Friend Or Relative Who Has Struggled With Prescription-pill Abuse, Poll Finds
Almost one in three Kentuckians say they have a friend or relative that has had problems stemming from prescription drug abuse, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. In Eastern Kentucky, 43.2 percent of respondents said "yes" when asked if a family...



Health News








.