ADDICTS 'TAKING FEWER RISKS WITH NEEDLES AND SEX'

GROWING numbers of heroin users are again injecting rather than smoking the
drug - but high risk activities such as sharing needles and having
unprotected sex are on the decrease according to a new report.

The Health Research Board which has monitored drug trends since the early
1990s found smoking heroin was the preferred method of use for young people
starting to abuse the drug, but suggests that once heroin use becomes
habitual, addicts tend to inject.

"The explanation is likely to be a complex one, involving many factors such
as the perceptions of drug users, the availability of heroin and
fluctuations in price," says the report from the board's Drug Misuse
Research Division.

The study headed by Dr Hamish Sinclair adds: "Trends in high risk behaviours
over the time period 1990-1997 have shown a significant decrease. Needle
sharing practices have fallen and safe sex practices have increased.

This is attributed in part to the increase in the services for drug users
including the availability of clean injecting equipment. However, it was
found that women tend to be more involved in risky behaviour than male drug
users.

The authors said the report highlighted the dearth of information on the
social and economic costs of drug misuse. While noting a rise in heroin
seizures, it stressed the need to determine the availability of different
drugs in order to better inform prevention strategies.

The report points to the large number of innovative drug demand reduction
programmes or interventions underway here but stressed the need to develop a
culture of evaluation around these developments.