Melbourne, Jul 13 (IANS): Heroin use in Australia's Melbourne city have hit a 20-year high due to the plummeting price of the drug, it was revealed on Thursday.

Heroin addicts can buy a hit of the drug for as cheap as $13, cheaper than most alcohol for sale in Australia, compared to $38 per hit in the mid-to-late 2000s, reports Xinhua news agency.

The rise in prominence of the drug has reignited calls for safe injecting rooms where the crisis is worst in North Richmond.

Safe injecting rooms are facilities whereby addicts can have heroin administered to them by medical professionals in a safe space where the risk of overdosing is dramatically reduced.

Emergency services data published by Australian media on Thursday revealed that 190 people died in Victoria state from heroin overdoses in 2016, the highest number since the 1990s.

The data also revealed that half those deaths occurred in public places such as streets, parks and alleyways.