A 12-year follow-up of a sample of patients dependent upon heroin.

Heroin addiction is a chronic, relapsing and remitting condition. Each year 2-5% of addicts discontinue drug use permanently and 1-2% die, mostly of overdose (Robins, 1993). A study of 129 opiate-addicted patients on a monthly maintenance regimen found that those with a family history of opium use had an earlier age at onset (Chaudhry , 1991).