Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2008
Source: Courier, The (Dundee, UK)
Copyright: DC Thomson & Co Ltd
Contact:  http://www.thecourier.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/802
Author: Graham Huband
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose)

EXPERT AIRS HARD DRUGS FEARS AS DEATHS SOAR

DRUG DEATH rates are spiralling in Scotland because users are risking 
overdoses by taking stupefying narcotic cocktails, a Tayside expert 
said last night.

Dr Brian Kidd, lead clinician of NHS Tayside's Substance Misuse 
Service, also said a cultural shift towards injecting hard drugs such 
as heroin rather than the pill-popping culture of the 1990s had seen 
death rates rise dramatically.

New figures released by the Registrar General for Scotland yesterday 
revealed drug deaths in Dundee increased to 23 in 2007--a 43% rise on 
the previous 12 months when 16 were recorded.

The statistics for Fife also painted a grim picture with 28 
drug-related deaths in 2007 compared to 19 in 2006.

However, the news was more promising in Angus and Perth and Kinross, 
with both council areas seeing a significant drop in drug-related 
deaths to just three each last year from 11 and eight respectively.

In Scotland as a whole the outlook was bleak with 455 drug 
fatalities--an 8% increase on 2006 and the highest figure ever 
recorded. A third of the deaths occurred in Glasgow.

Dr Kidd said heroin was linked to the majority of drug deaths in 
Scotland but he said often those who overdosed had taken a cocktail 
of substances.

He said multiple drug use significantly increased the chances of a 
fatal overdose as the various substances worked together in a user's 
system and the combined hit could be significantly more powerful than expected.

Dr Kidd said drug use was extremely complex and he said it was 
impossible to pinpoint a single factor, which if eliminated, would 
reduce deaths.

However, he said greater education about drugs and about what to do 
in the event of an overdose--most people are with at least one other 
person when they fall into a potentially fatal stupor--were vital.

He also said he believed the Scottish Government's new strategy to 
help people recover from addiction was a step in the right direction.

Dr Kidd said, "Back in the 80s there was a lot of injecting drug use 
but by the 1990s injecting drug use was going down and consequently 
the risks were reduced very significantly.

"Now we are seeing a next generation of injecting drug users and what 
we are maybe seeing is people taking more risks.

"I would agree heroin is the number one concern--in about 60% of all 
deaths in these figures, heroin is a contributory factor.

"However, there are two other drugs--alcohol was present in over 150 
of these deaths, and diazepam or benzodiazepines--which are a huge 
factor in Scotland in drug deaths.

"Although heroin is a risky drug, the risk is multiplied with 
poly-drug use (the simultaneous use of several drugs) involving 
opiates, alcohol and benzodiazepines."

Tayside Police drugs co-ordinator Inspector Wendy Symington said 
positive steps had been made in reducing drugs supply into the region 
in recent months.

She said, "We have had quite a number of fairly high profile (drug) 
operations recently which have reaped quite a lot of benefit. They 
have been very successful and we are hearing anecdotally that there 
may be a shortage of heroin (on the streets.)

"We concentrate on enforcement but we also do have a responsibility 
for harm reduction and prevention as well."

David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said, "There are 
also huge obstacles to overcoming underlying factors such as poverty, 
social breakdown and the difficulty of accessing quality training and 
employment opportunities for people trying to avoid or move on from a 
drug problem."

Nineteen of the 28 deaths in Fife last year involved heroin or 
morphine, with methadone, diazepam, ecstasy and alcohol also to 
blame--although individual deaths often involved more than one kind 
of substance, writes Craig Smith.

A total of 16 deaths were put down to drug abuse and eight to 
accidental poisoning, with four caused by "undetermined intent."

Health chiefs and addiction support groups in Fife will be even more 
concerned at least 18 people have already died as a result of drug 
use between January and May this year--three more than in the same 
period in 2007.

NHS Fife have warned drug users of the dangers of mixing different substances.

Dr Frances Elliot, NHS Fife medical director, said, "Every effort is 
made to inform services involved with drug and alcohol users of the 
need to keep users informed of the potential lethal cocktail when 
assessing individuals."

Recent figures also revealed numbers accessing treatment for drug and 
alcohol addiction trebled in Fife last year after a redesign of services.

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said the figures preceded a 
new drugs strategy but warned, "It will take months and years to 
achieve and the scourge of drugs will not disappear overnight."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom