Report: Suffolk County Has Most Heroin-Related Deaths In State
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Suffolk County leads the entire state of New York in heroin-related deaths, according to a new report.
From 2009 to 2013, there were 337 people who died in Suffolk County from heroin-related overdoses, surpassing totals in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and all other counties in New York State, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.
"It's a treatable disease, deaths are unnecessary --they're unwarranted they're preventable," Family and Children's Association president Dr. Jeffery Reynolds said.
According to Dr. Reynolds, the fatalities are mainly people ages 18 to 24.
"Most of those young people didn't start using heroin and progressed to an overdose very quickly," Dr. Reynolds said.
According to Dr. Reynolds, most of the victims began using other drugs -- like alcohol, marijuana and prescription medication before progressing into heroin use.
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"There's a trajectory that we see from those drugs which are viewed as somewhat more minor to heroin," Dr. Reynolds said.
Dr. Reynolds said it's important to tell children starting at five or six years old about not taking medicine unless you are sick and to openly discuss the dangers of drugs when they are in their early teens.
