As the world mourns the loss of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in a suspected heroin overdose, officials are taking a closer look at the deadly drug.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) R. GIL KERLIKOWSKE, UNITED STATES DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY, SAYING:
"Well certainly the loss of somebody famous and especially to a drug like heroin really brings a lot of attention, but we've been tracking this resurgence, or upsurge, for quite a while."
That's Gil Kerlikowske, the U.S. director of National Drug Control Policy.
He says officials are seeing a sharp increase in the drug's use.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) R. GIL KERLIKOWSKE, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY, SAYING:
"It's a very different heroin problem than something we've experienced in the past."
Hoffman was found Sunday with a syringe in his arm and about 50 small bags of heroin in his Manhattan apartment.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, deaths by heroin overdose have increas
