Long term heroin addicts, stay in the treatment longer, when they are given 'medical heroin' than those who are given methodone, as per the results of a study.

According to the study, an added advantage of this alternate way of treatment is that those who failed earlier attempts at treatment have shown a decline on illicit drug use and illegal activity.

There are about a million opioid addicts in North America out of which a majority is addicted to heroin, according to background information in the study.

Study's senior author, Dr. Martin Schechter, a professor and director of the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia said, "Sooner or later, they may seek counseling and other treatment and, in the meantime, you're saving a lot of money in health care because the treatment is far less expensive to the community than the alternative."

Methadone is a widely accepted treatment drug to replace heroin. However as many as 15-25 percent people addicted to heroin don't have a good response to methadone. In the U. K., medical heroin is permitted to be used as the last resort.

Though medical heroin is not likely to be approved for use in the U. S., said Schechter, the study did find that hydromorphone had similar advantages and has already been approved for use in the U. S.

Dr. Schechter said the researchers will apply to the Canadian government to use prescription heroin as a treatment for addicts.