The U.K. government will give free foil to drug users as a way to lure them into clinics.
Foil is used as a cooking surface, to heat drugs so they can be either injected or smoked the BBC reported. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) made the recommendation in hopes of getting help for more addicts.
Providing drug paraphernalia to addicts "does increase the number of individuals who engage with the services," according to the ACMD."In turn, engagement with treatment services increases the likelihood of an individual's recovery."
The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs agreed with the decision, but for different reasons.
"Whilst it is clear from the ACMD's 2010 report that providing foil also provides an opportunity to engage injecting drug users in harm reduction and potentially drug cessation discussions, one of the primary benefits is in encouraging a move away from injecting and therefore reducing the risk of blood borne infections and overdose which affect not only the user but their families as well as wider society in the form of NHS and social costs," a spokeswoman said.
The number of crack cocaine users in England has fallen below 300,000 for the first time within memory, the BBC reported via the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. The U.K. government hopes to help those numbers drop even more with this new strategy.
"Support that enables heroin and other drug users to reduce the risks to themselves and others can be the catalyst for engaging with treatment and support for recovery," Martin Barnes, the chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said.
Theresa May, the Secretary of State for the Home Department agrees the new policy will help the drug addicts find a way to recovery.
"The available evidence shows that the provision of foil can encourage people to take their first steps into treatment, reducing the immediate harm and facilitating the onward journey towards recovery and abstinence," she said in a statement.
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