Heroin (smack, skag, junk) is an opium made from poppy seeds and is the top cause of drug-related death in the UK. It contains painkillers like morphine and codeine, and similar drugs are sometimes used for medical purposes. When it’s pure, it comes in a fine white powder, and can be smoked, snorted or injected.

Heroin users build up a tolerance to the drug, needing more and more to achieve the same effect, and become physically dependant – meaning they feel withdrawal symptoms such as aching, tremours, vomiting, sweating, insomnia, chills and muscle spasms just hours after the drug’s pleasurable effects wear off.

Unlike cocaine and ecstasy, heroin is a sedative that depresses the nervous system and deadens pain, causing a rush of euphoria and making the user feel relaxed, happy and warm, sometimes for hours. Immediate effects can also include nausea, vomiting, chronic constipation and drowsiness, and overdosing can cause comas, respiratory failure and death, especially when mixed with other drugs, tranquilisers or alcohol.

Regular use causes collapsed veins, spontaneous abortions, liver disease, heart attacks, lung risks and general poor health. When needles are used, your risk of contracting HIV and diseases like Hepatitis is also greatly increased. Plus, street heroin can contain added chemicals that cause blood clots in the brain, liver, kidneys and lungs, possibly causing death.

It’s very difficult to come off and stay off heroin (in fact going cold turkey can be fatal), so treatment usually takes the form of psychological therapy while gradually detoxing by prescribing a substitute drug (usually Methadone) to decrease withdrawal symptoms.

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