Drug consumption rooms: An overdue extension to harm reduction policy in the UK?

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Lloyd ◽  
Neil Hunt
Author(s):  
Nayana Santos Arêa Soares ◽  
Márcia Astrês Fernandes ◽  
Hellany Karolliny Pinho Ribeiro ◽  
Daniel de Macêdo Rocha ◽  
Ítalo Arão Pereira Ribeiro

Abstract Objective: To analyze the evidence available in the literature on harm reduction actions developed by primary healthcare. Method: Integrative literature review carried out in the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of ScienceTM and LILACS. Results: Seventeen (17) primary studies published from 2008 to 2017 were included in this review. Care strategies for harm reduction included maintenance treatment with methadone, therapy with opioid agonists, needle and syringe distribution programs and the creation of rooms for supervised drug consumption. Health professionals were essential for consolidating inclusion strategies, possessing skills to listen without judgment and prejudice. Conclusion: Harm reduction care strategies have been disseminated in different countries and healthcare levels, aiming toward safe practice and quality, effective and risk-free care actions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Beard ◽  
Jamie Brown ◽  
Robert West

Objectives: Stopping smoking leads to greater happiness and life satisfaction. This raises the question as to whether harm reduction, i.e. smoking reduction (SR) and the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for SR, might lead to a similar benefit. This is of importance, given that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK is due to release guidance on harm reduction in 2013.Design: Data were collected from 1,532 smokers involved in the Smoking Toolkit Study.Method: Participants were asked if they were cutting down and if they were using Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). Smokers also rated happiness and life satisfaction.Results: There was no evidence of an association between SR or use of NRT for SR and either reported ‘happiness’ or ‘life satisfaction’. Nor was there an association between measures of ‘happiness’ or ‘life satisfaction’ and cigarette consumption.Conclusion: It appears that SR is not associated with mental health benefits. This suggests that complete cessation may be necessary for benefits to be incurred. Prospective studies are necessary to confirm these findings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vânia Dias Cruz ◽  
Silvana Sidney Costa Santos ◽  
Daiane Porto Gautério-Abreu ◽  
Bárbara Tarouco da Silva ◽  
Silomar Ilha

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Giorla ◽  
S Nordmann ◽  
Y Pelloux ◽  
P Roux ◽  
S Rosellini ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTSocial environment influences drug consumption, its persistence and evolution. Little is known regarding the influence of the presence of a peer during drug consumption and especially how the relationship between peers (familiarity and dominance) can influence drug consumption. We used here a translational and transdisciplinary approach to explore the influence of peer presence and peer familiarity in rats and humans that self-administer stimulants. In rats, cocaine intake was compared when rats were alone with intake when peers with different characteristics (familiar or not, cocaine naive or not, dominant or subordinate) were present. In humans, 77 cocaine and/or methylphenidate users were asked to detail their most recent drug use episodes and their relationship with peers present at consumption. The results show that in both humans and rats, the risk of cocaine/stimulant consumption was significantly reduced by 37% and 32%, respectively, when a peer was present. Moreover, the lowest risk of consumption was consistently observed when the peer was unfamiliar (vs familiar) with a further 38% and 17% risk reduction, respectively. In rats, a decreased risk of consumption was greater when the peer was cocaine naive (vs non-cocaine naive).The presence of a non-familiar and possibly drug-naive peer is the most efficient condition to diminish stimulant intake. Our results indirectly support the use of harm reduction strategies, in particular supervised consumption rooms for stimulant users.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e023683
Author(s):  
Marc Auriacombe ◽  
Perrine Roux ◽  
Laélia Briand Madrid ◽  
Sébastien Kirchherr ◽  
Charlotte Kervran ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe high prevalence of hepatitis C and the persistence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) risk practices in people who inject drugs (PWID) in France underlines the need for innovative prevention interventions. The main objective of this article is to describe the design of the COSINUS cohort study and outline the issues it will explore to evaluate the impact of drug consumption rooms (DCR) on PWID outcomes. Secondary objectives are to assess how DCR (a) influence other drug-related practices, such as the transition from intravenous to less risky modes of use, (b) reduce drug use frequency/quantity, (c) increase access to treatment for addiction and comorbidities (infectious, psychiatric and other), (d) improve social conditions and (e) reduce levels of violence experienced and drug-related offences. COSINUS will also give us the opportunity to investigate the impact of other harm reduction tools in France and their combined effect with DCR on reducing HIV-HCV risk practices. Furthermore, we will be better able to identify PWID needs.Methods and analysisEnrollment in this prospective multi-site cohort study started in June 2016. Overall, 680 PWID in four different cities (Bordeaux, Marseilles, Paris and Strasbourg) will be enrolled and followed up for 12 months through face-to-face structured interviews administered by trained staff to all eligible participants at baseline (M0), 3 month (M3), 6 month (M6) and 12 month (M12) follow-up visits. These interviews gather data on socio-demographic characteristics, past and current drug and alcohol consumption, drug-use related practices, access to care and social services, experience of violence (as victims), offences, other psychosocial issues and perception and needs about harm reduction interventions and services. Longitudinal data analysis will use a mixed logistic model to assess the impact of individual and structural factors, including DCR attendance and exposure to other harm reduction services, on the main outcome (HIV-HCV risk practices).Ethics and disseminationThis study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the French Institute of Medical Research and Health (opinion number: 14–166). The findings of this cohort study will help to assess the impact of DCR on HIV-HCV risk practices and other psycho-social outcomes and trajectories. Moreover, they will enable health authorities to shape health and harm reduction policies according to PWID needs. Finally, they will also help to improve current harm reduction and therapeutic interventions and to create novel ones.


The Lancet ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 381 (9881) ◽  
pp. 1879-1880 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Britton ◽  
Ann McNeill

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