The abuse of intravenous drugs is spreading from the US, western Europe and Australia to just about every other region of the world. Countries now report that the number of injecting drug addicts and the spread of Aids through sharing needles is reaching epidemic proportions in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe. At a conference in Geneva last month, scientists, politicians and drug users met to discuss the project. Quality of life Conference president Dominic Oiser says society has a moral duty to support the policy. My moral question or my ethical point of view is that as public health people, as medical doctors, as social workers, we have to find ways to maintain and improve quality of health, quality of life, of individuals and of the society in which we live.
Studies show that harm reduction does save lives, as well as improving addicts' quality of life.
But critics believe governments should be encouraging addicts to kick their habit completely, instead of supplying them with clean needles and methadone. The Director of the International Harm Reduction Association, Pat O'Hare, disagrees. It stops them using street heroin, it reduces the amount of sharing of needles and it reduces the amount of crime that those people commit. Now, that sounds to me like a pretty good deal. The HIV epidemic has added weight to arguments in support of harm reduction.