WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans checking into treatment centers for heroin and other opiates has surpassed those seeking help for cocaine, the government reported yesterday, offering further evidence of heroin's spread.

The rise is fueled by users who snort and smoke heroin -- proof, experts say, that these methods can be just as addictive as injecting the drug with needles.

The number of treatment center admissions for heroin and other opiates rose by 29 percent -- up from 180,000 to 232,000 -- between 1992 and 1997, the report found.

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