THE cost of medication used to wean city addicts off heroin has almost doubled in the past two years. Peterborough's health authority spent UKP46,657 on drugs such as methadone - a synthetic substance used by addicts to kick their habit - between October 2005 and September 2006. It compares to UKP26,205 spent in the previous period.

The amount spent on methadone itself jumped from UKP13,673 to UKP22,055, while cash used to buy buprenorphine, another drug used to treat heroin addiction, rose from UKP10,713 to UKP22,055.

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