A group of doctors and drug experts has attacked the “reckless” advice given by a government agency that heroin addicts should quit the drug after the recent spate of anthrax deaths among users.
The group demanded in a letter to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon that the Government take emergency action to stop the outbreak from claiming more lives.
It claimed Health Protection Scotland was wrong to suggest abusers give up the drug and that further deaths were inevitable unless they could get access to substitutes such as methadone.
The letter said waiting times for these opiate replacement drugs were as high as 12 months in Scotland, the longest in Britain.
In addition to the seven fatalities, another seven people are in hospital after contracting anthrax from infected heroin.
The letter said: “It is unacceptable for those responsible for public health to issue advice to those using heroin to simply stop, or access treatment which in practice is not available.
“It is clear that this kind of approach can only lead to the death of more vulnerable people.” It continued: “An immediate public health plan must be initiated – part of this plan must provide for rapid access and low threshold prescribing of appropriate alternatives to street heroin.”
The letter was organised by drugs campaign group Release and signed by academics, international drugs experts and doctors.
Gary Sutton, head of drug services at Release, said the group’s UK-wide helpline fielded 16% of calls from Scotland, a “disproportionate” number of calls.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers have confidence in the public health advice being given to drugs users.”
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