Heroin death rates rise in 2014

The heroin-related death rate for Jefferson County more than doubled in 2014. According Deputy Coroner Bill Yates of the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, there were 129 confirmed heroin deaths last year, compared to 58 in 2013.

Across the county, the number of deaths from heroin overdose has been rising each year since 2010, when there were 12 deaths. The growth between 2013 and 2014 was the largest single increase since that time. 

Yates had records of one heroin death in Mountain Brook this year, though Captain Greg Hagood of the Mountain Brook Police Department said he did not have confirmation of any heroin-related deaths. He noted that Mountain Brook experienced a spike in heroin use in 2008 and 2009, but usage has since decreased.

While Mountain Brook has had a relatively minor impact from heroin, the cities around it have seen much greater effects. Within the city limits of Birmingham, 55 heroin-related deaths occurred in 2014, and Homewood and Vestavia Hills each have seven confirmed deaths. The Coroner’s Office lists six deaths in Hoover for the year, but the Hoover police have 10 deaths in their records. Other towns across the county are also seeing increasing heroin use and fatalities, as the drug is relatively cheap and easy to find.

Yates said heroin is suspected as a contributing factor in other 2014 deaths, so the total may rise as more toxicology reports are completed.

“Those numbers can change until all our cases are closed out,” Yates said.