Pubdate: Mon, 08 Aug 2005
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Julia Horton
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

FEARS FOR YOUNG SCOTS WHO BELIEVE HEROIN SMOKING WON'T HARM THEM

THOUSANDS of young Scots are getting hooked on heroin because they 
mistakenly believe it is safe to smoke the deadly drug.

Drug experts are warning that many young people in Scotland wrongly think 
that as long as they don't inject heroin they will not become addicted.

But the reality is that seven out of ten heroin addicts start out smoking 
the drug.

A hard-hitting campaign is being launched in Scotland today in a bid to 
dispel the myth that smoking heroin is safe. Children as young as 13 are 
being targeted by the Scottish Executive campaign, the latest in the 
Executive's Know the Score educational initiative, although the message is 
mainly aimed at older teenagers aged 16-19 years old.

Tom Wood, chairman of the Edinburgh Drugs and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) 
and former deputy chief constable at Lothian and Borders police, said: "The 
reason we are doing this is that 70 per cent of young people who use heroin 
in Scotland smoke it first, and there is a dangerous fallacy that smoking 
heroin is less dangerous, or even not dangerous at all.

"Many people hold the view that you are not an addict unless you inject. 
This is clearly not true. The message we want to get through to young 
people is that there is no safe way to take heroin.

"If you smoke it you will still become addicted, and you are still likely 
to go on to inject heroin as well."

Recent figures showed that there were 51,582 drug addicts in Scotland in 
2003/4.

Of those attending drug services for treatment, 7813 people were on heroin, 
with a massive 72 per cent of those aged under 20 claiming they only smoked 
the drug and had never injected it.

The main part of the campaign is a television advert which opens with a 
young man smoking heroin in his comfortable flat.

As he continues to breathe in the drug things begin to change.

His possessions start to disappear and his appearance becomes dishevelled.

The closing image shows the man staring at a needle, realising that he has 
lost everything and is addicted to the drug.

Announcing the new campaign, Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said the 
move was geared towards challenging the myths surrounding the subject.

"Heroin devastates the lives of individuals and families," he said.

"But there remains in the minds of some people a false notion of 'heroin 
chic' and that a heroin habit can be managed, particularly if smoked rather 
than injected.

"The price to pay for those misconceptions is often misery and death. This 
campaign challenges that complacency and provides a graphic picture of what 
heroin can do. There is no safe way to take heroin.

"The television advert has been designed to show the devastating effects 
that it can have on your life and those around you."

City drug workers welcomed the campaign, which they said was much-needed.

Turning Point Scotland Edinburgh drugs services manager Martin Bonnar 
warned of the dangers of assuming that smoking heroin was safer.

He added: "We see a significant number of service users who have reported a 
history of smoking heroin that may have escalated into addiction."

The powerful new adverts will run on Scottish Television, Channel 4 and 
Five from today until September 13.
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MAP posted-by: Beth