Heroin

Heroin use is on the increase. There are about 40,000 registered addicts in the UK, but the real figure could be four times that number. Customs seizures are also at a record high.

What is heroin?

Heroin is made from morphine, a strong painkiller.

The morphine, which is derived from the dried 'milk' of the opium poppy, is treated to produce a substance that has four to eight times the potency.

The German Bayer Company was the first to develop heroin in 1898, but soon realised that the undesirable side effects far outweighed its value as a painkiller.

How do users take heroin?

It can be taken in many different ways.

Because it comes as a powder, it can be dissolved in water and injected.

It can also be smoked.

This involves heating the drug on tin foil.

The fumes are then inhaled through a small tube - a method sometimes called "chasing the dragon".

Injecting creates a more powerful "high".

The vast majority of heroin is illegally manufactured and is diluted or "cut" for sale on the street.

This is usually done with glucose, but caffeine, flour, chalk, quinine, and even talcum powder are used.

How does it make you feel

It gives most people a "rush" or "buzz" within minutes of taking the drug. Users feel drowsy, warm, content and have a general sense of euphoria. Heroin can also detach the user from feelings of pain and worry. But heroin can also make you vomit and give you headaches. Heroin is also highly addictive and tolerance to the drug builds up rapidly. This means more and more of the drug has to be used to create the same 'high'.

What are the dangers?

It is illegal to manufacture, possess, or sell heroin in the UK, and so the source and quality of the drug can never be guaranteed.

This means the user runs the risk of an overdose or poisoning.

The use of dirty needles risks infection from hepatitis and HIV.

Long-term users suffer from collapsed veins.

Breathing problems, constipation and a loss of appetite leading to malnutrition are an indication of a decline in general health.

Pregnant women who use heroin risk giving birth to smaller babies who are themselves addicted to heroin.

The baby will experience withdrawal symptoms soon after birth.

Heavy, long-term users can experience mental health problems.

Addicts often become involved in crime as a way of funding their habit.

How do you come off heroin?

When heroin users miss a "fix", they experience withdrawal symptoms.

They get aches, tremors, sweats, chills, and muscular spasms.

To break the addiction, doctors prescribe methadone, a synthetic substitute.

Methadone works just like heroin, but does not provide the same euphoric effects.

Methadone is given orally or injected intravenously.

Its dosage is controlled and gradually lowered over time until the patient is off the drug completely.