ADDICTS GET NONEEDLE ADVICE

Heroin users in Scotland are being urged to smoke the drug rather than
inject it in a pilot scheme to prevent the spread of Hepatitis C and HIV.

Yesterday the Scottish Drugs Forum started a campaign to move heroin
injectors towards a safer method of drug use.

The group hopes it is the first step towards getting the addicts off the
deadly drug.

The pilot programme was first researched in London, where a two year
community study was carried out into the effects of smoking heroin.

Kathleen Travers, of the Scottish Drugs Forum, believes lives could be
saved by users' substituting rolledup cigarettes for the dangerous needles.

At a conference in Stirling yesterday, Mrs. Travers said: "Big cities in
Scotland have an increasing problem with heroin addiction and the east
coast is particularly bad. "By injecting, heroin users run a 6090% risk of
catching HIV, so we are urging them to try smoking it as a safer
alternative. What we will do with users who come to us is first of all try
and educate them on the risks of taking heroin before getting them to take
it without the use of a needle."

She added: "The final stage is to get them off heroin completely."

Matthew Southwell of the East London Drug Services, who were responsible
for the twoyear study in England, acknowledged there was a risk of
attracting new users to the alternative way of taking the drug.

Mr. Southwell said: "Clubbers for instance, are being attracted by smoking
heroin as a new way of coming down or chilling out from the effects of
other drugs. "That puts forward a danger to them, as smoking heroin would
be a new rush they have never tried before.

"If that happens, it's up to groups like us and the Scottish Drugs Forum to
educate them on the dangers."