EU REPORT HIGHLIGHTS STEEP RISE IN DRUG-RELATED DEATHS

The drug-related death toll has risen sharply in Ireland in the past decade,
a new EU report notes.

But it says this country's approach to combating drug use is paying off.

Although drug use here remains high, heroin figures have stabilised while
new programmes to help addicts are having an effect, says the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug addiction.

Speaking at the launch of the report, one of the Centre's experts, Richard
Hartnoll, said new treatment and prevention programmes are gradually
tackling the underlying causes and recurrence of drug use, particularly
amongst heroin-users.

"The Irish approach reflects a general trend away from reliance on one
approach. Historically, Ireland had a strong emphasis on the repressive
side," he said.

"Now Ireland and other countries such as France are taking a broader, more
multi-faceted approach and that is to be welcomed," he said.

The report also warns that drug-related deaths have risen sharply in Ireland
during the past decade.

Mr Hartnoll points out that although deaths appear to have leaped upwards,
they have done so from a low base. Better reporting of deaths also makes the
figures more accurate than in the past, he said.

Statistics show that 37pc of Irish 15 and 16-year-olds have tried cannabis,
second only to the UK in the EU, although some have decriminalised cannabis.

The law, according to Hartnoll, has little impact on teenagers, whose
interest in experimentation stems from "social attitudes of young people"
not the risk of getting caught.

In its annual report, the drug agency found that across the EU, there are
more than 1.5m problem drug users, while at least 45m Europeans, or one in
five, have smoked cannabis at some time. Overall, drug use is continuing to
rise, particularly in countries where it was once low.

The report warns that average age of addicts is now increasing and warns:
"What is noteworthy is that heroin-users are becoming a chronic ageing
population with serious, social and psychiatric problems."

The agency urged member states to acknowledge the difference between casual
cannabis smokers and heroin addicts.

Jail sentences imposed on someone who smoked the odd joint, could lead them
to harder drugs in prison than they would otherwise have encountered, said
the Agency Director Georges Estievenart.

The annual report also warns that cocaine use is both rising and spreading,
especially amongst more affluent young people in urban centres.

Although some countries have tried using numerous substitutes, Ireland is
one of the few countries that only prescribe methadone for heroin addicts.
Others, including Switzerland and the Netherlands are running trial
programmes where heroin is made available under strict conditions.

Mortality rates for heroin addicts are also up to 20 times higher than the
general population, with female addicts often feeding their habit through
prostitution up to 30 times more likely to die.

HIV infection amongst drug injectors is also running at up to 32pc in Spain
and 27pc in Portugal compared to just 3pc in Ireland. The report also
strongly backs the increased use of programmes to treat addicts and break
the cycle of drugs in their lifestyle.