According to statistics, eight out of every 1,000 15-64 year-olds has heroin addiction whereas five out of 1000 adults use crack cocaine. Recent study has shown that nearly half of addicts in methadone or specialist counselling programmes were able to give up their addiction within six months. Presently 140,000 people are enrolled in such drug addiction programmes.

Finings of the study were based on the data collected from more than 14,600 heroin and crack cocaine addicts enrolled in such programmes. 13,200 people were given drug treatment such as methadone while 1,400 people were given psychological treatments as there is no treatment option presently available for cocaine.

It was found that 42 percent of heroin users had stopped injecting the drug after six months where 57 percent crack users said they have quit addiction. Nearly half of the people suffering from addiction to both drug claimed that either they had quit or cut down.

Dr. Thomas McLellan, deputy director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said treating heroin and crack cocaine addicts was similar to managing patients with diabetes or high blood pressure. Just as diabetes patients wouldn't only be treated for six months before being released without medication similarly drug addicts needed continuing care.