This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Heroin myth goes up in smoke
11/08/2006
Smoking heroin is as addictive and has the same health effects as injecting heroin.
This is the stark warning of the second wave of the Know the Score campaign.
The campaign will reinforce the message that heroin leads to addiction whichever way its taken, and aims to build on the success of the first phase which ran last year.
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Know the Score, aimed primarily at teenagers between 13 and 19 years old, includes television adverts, radio adverts and billboards which will roll out from Monday and bolster the impact of last year's activity.
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said:
"Misconceptions can often cause confusion. But with a drug like heroin they can cost lives. I don't want any one to be in any doubt that heroin, however you take it, is an addictive and distructive drug. Heroin will destroy your lifestyle and ultimately heroin will destroy your life.
"People in Scotland die each year as a result of heroin use. The most recent figures published show that in 2004 alone heroin and morphine were responsible for 356 deaths. That is why we will continue to hammer home the message - heroin will rob you of all you possess, whether you smoke it or inject it. This campaign is our opportunity to prevent young people from throwing their lives away.
"The first phase of our anti-heroin campaign was a great success, resulting in a 50 per cent increase in calls to the Know the Score advice line. We need to sustain and build on that achievement.
"But prevention is only part of the picture in our battle against drug misuse. We will continue to work with the SCDEA and police forces across Scotland to put dealers where they belong - behind bars. And we will continue to work to get addicts off drugs and back into productive lives. We are expanding drug treatment services, increasing the numbers entering treatment, reducing waiting times and improving the range of interventions available locally.
"Heroin causes misery for those it snares, their families and communites. But through the continued work of this campaign we will not allow it to feed on ignorance or doubt."
Phase 2 of the anti-heroin campaign is expected to cost up to £170,000 and will run from August 14 to September 18, 2006.