The coronial files of all 188 heroin-related fatalities that occurred in re
gional New South Wales between 1992 and 1996 were inspected, There was a si
gnificant increase in fatalities, rising from 23 deaths in 1992 to 53 durin
g 1996. The regions in which the most deaths occurred were Wollongong/Illaw
arra (43 deaths), Newcastle/Hunter (35) and the far north coast (25). The m
ean age of cases was 31.5 years and 83% were male, and there were no signif
icant trends in demographic characteristics of cases over the study period.
The median blood morphine concentration of cases was 0.39 mg/l (range 0.05
-4.5 mg/l). Alcohol was detected in 50% of cases and benzodiazepines in 29%
, There were large regional variations in toxicology results, with median b
lood morphine concentrations ranging from 0.25 mg/l among south coast cases
to 0.56 mg/l in mid-western New South Wales. Compared to Sydney metropolit
an cases, regional cases had a higher median blood morphine concentration,
were less likely to have cocaine detected, were more likely to have died in
a home environment and to have been born in Australia.