Limited spaces and restricted funding for drug treatment programmes is leading some addicts to crime to fund their habit.

One beneficiary and synthetic heroin addict, David Ratterhad had waited nine months to get on the methadone programme and Capital and Coast District Health Board said that on current tracking he had about another seven months before he could start the programme, the Dominion Post reported.He said he was on the brink of committing armed robbery if he had to wait any longer.Mr Ratter, 44, of Wainuiomata,...

The number of people infected with HIV in the UK has almost doubled over the past decade, figures show.

New cases jumped from 1,950 in 2001 to 3,780 in 2010, according to data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).All the cases involve people who acquired HIV in the UK.Most new cases were among gay men, with a 70% rise in the past 10 years, from 1,810 in 2001 to 3,080 in 2010.But black Africans are also at high risk, prompting the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to publish...

THOUSANDS of British women risk their lives using BANNED diet pills bought online and in salons.

THOUSANDS of British women risk their lives using BANNED diet pills bought online and in salons. Many weight-loss drugs can cause strokes, panic attacks or worse and their sale is illegal in Britain. But our laws don't apply to overseas pharmacies selling to UK homes via the intern...

The coalition will announce restrictive regulatory changes to the £13.4bn British tobacco industry on National No Smoking Day

The coalition will announce restrictive regulatory changes to the £13.4bn British tobacco industry on National No Smoking Day on Wednesday, which shopkeepers believe could force closures.The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has called several retail representative bodies, which are largely against the probable changes, to his office on Wednesday morning. They include the British Retail Consortium,...

therapist recently compared playing video games to snorting lines and lines of cocaine

An obviously clueless therapist recently compared playing video games to snorting lines and lines of cocaine. Snowblind, what?"Spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine in the high it produces in the brain," UK-based therapist Steve Pope told BBC Radio. "It's [become] the silent killer of our generation."According to Pope, computer game addiction can also "spiral...

Department of Health (DH) researchers are using pharmacy data as part of an investigation into prescription drug addiction

Department of Health (DH) researchers are using pharmacy data as part of an investigation into prescription drug addiction, health minister Anne Milton has announced.The DH has commissioned research into the prevalence of addiction to prescription drugs and the services available for its treatment, and will publish the findings “in the next couple of months”, Ms Milton said. The report would include...

People suffering from drug addiction might have someone to blame

People suffering from drug addiction might have someone to blame as a recently conducted study by researchers in the US has revealed that addiction is a result of a person's genetic traits. Apart from the likelihood of being dependant on drugs, it was also reported that the duration of drug abuse was dependant on a person's lineage as well.The study was carried out by a team of experts at the Brookhaven...

Troubled actor Charlie Sheen is suing the producers of the top-rating television show Two and a Half Men for $100 million

Troubled actor Charlie Sheen is suing the producers of the top-rating television show Two and a Half Men for $100 million over their decision to sack him and suspend the show for the rest of the season.The off-the-rails star filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court today against Warner Brothers and the sitcom's co-creator Chuck Lorre, alleging they breached contracts with the cast and crew by suspending...

“The kids are so ruined,” the man said. “Everyone, from students aged around 18 to even farmers, are addicted to heroin. They were only trying it out at the beginning but now are addicted.”

young people are becoming addicted to heroin in Burma’s northernmost Kachin state as authorities fail to clamp down on dealers, sources in several towns have warned.Males between the ages of 17 and 40 were among the most affected, said a resident of Mogaung town, which lies just west of the Kachin capital, Myitkyina. Other towns suffering rising rates of addiction were Mohnyin, Myitkyina and Hpakant,...

Oxy addicts drive surge in demand for methadone | Winnipeg | News | Winnipeg Sun

Oxy addicts drive surge in demand for methadoneThe number of methadone patients in Winnipeg has taken a “tremendous leap” over the past two years, according the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. There are currently 335 patients in the Methadone Intervention and Needle Exchange (MINE) program, up from about 175 in 2006. “If you look at the actual number that have been through the wait list ... there’s...

Whitney Houston's Daughter Pictured Snorting White Powder

Whitney Houston's Daughter Pictured Snorting White Powder "Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown has been pictured snorting white powder which is purportedly cocaine. The 18-year-old, who celebrated her birthday last week, has been accused of following in her parents' footsteps after both...

Singer George Michael has opened up about his recent jail stint, insisting he deserved to go behind bars

Singer George Michael has opened up about his recent jail stint, insisting he deserved to go behind bars for his "shameful" acts. The former Wham! singer was jailed for eight weeks in September for possessing cannabis and driving under the influence of drugs. Michael was previously banned from driving...

video-game addiction

The growing issue of video-game addiction: "Many people have had a brush with video-game obsession, whether it was Super Mario 3 instead of homework in Grade 5, or Call of Duty: Black Ops – all of last weekend. However, for a growing number video-game addiction is a serious problem. Video game audiences...

Charlie Sheen's out of the AA 'troll hole'

Charlie Sheen's out of the AA 'troll hole': "Mr. Sheen's bare-fanged fury notwithstanding, he has said nothing that Stanton Peele, a renowned addiction expert, has not said before him. The author of 'Diseasing of America: How We Allowed Recovery Zealots and the Treatment Industry to Convince Us We Are...

Charlie Sheen's drink of choice?

 "Charlie Sheen's drink of choice? Chocolate milk. Or so he says on Twitter. Sheen, who has blazed past 200,000 followers and counting in only a few hours after joining the social networking service, issued his first tweet on Tuesday night. It promoted winning, dairy products and juice. 'Winning..!...

Psychosis linked to use of cannabis

The Press Association: Psychosis linked to use of cannabis: "Using cannabis as a teenager or into young adulthood increases the risk of psychosis, experts have warned. There has long been a debate over whether the link between cannabis and psychosis is causal or whether early psychotic experiences lead people to 'self-medicate' with cannabis. Researchers examined data for more than 1,900 people who...

Doctor suspended for alleged addiction

Doctor suspended for alleged addiction "The provincial health department confirmed yesterday that the doctor was suspended from the GJ Crookes Hospital in Scottburgh. Department spokesman Chris Maxon refused to divulge the details, but hospital insiders claimed the doctor was allegedly caught stealing the drug for his own use. 'The doctor has been reported to the Health Professions Council of South...

Charlie Sheen Slams Addicts and Alcoholics as 'Losers' in Live TV Interview

Charlie Sheen Slams Addicts and Alcoholics as 'Losers' in Live TV Interview: "Charlie Sheen late Monday described addicts and people in Alcoholics Anonymous as 'losers' who wish they had his life -- whereas he is a 'winner' who does not regret his hard-partying lifestyle. Capping a day of headline-grabbing...