HEROIN
AKA: Brown, skag, smack, gear
Heroin is made from
opium poppies and is a white or brown powder that people smoke or
inject. Occasionally, if it is very pure, people snort it.
Why do people take
it?
What class is it?
How does it affect the
heart?
What are the
other effects on the body?
What are illegal drugs?
Illegal drugs can damage the brain, heart, and other important
organs. Different drugs affect you in different ways and include
different risks. Here you can find out more about them.
Class A, B or C?
The British government separate the different kinds of illegal
drugs into three different categories. These classes (A, B and C)
carry different levels of penalty for possession and dealing. Drugs
classified ‘A’ have the strongest penalties, drugs classified ‘C’
have the lowest.
(These classes have nothing to do with how strong or dangerous a
drug is – some class ‘C’ drugs can kill you.)
To find out more about the fines and prison sentences you can
get for carrying drugs, go to talktofrank
HEROIN
Why do people take it?
To start with, people take heroin because it makes them feel
really cosy and relaxed (although the first time you take it, you
usually throw-up). The problem is, heroin is so addictive that you
only have to use it a few times before you start to have horrible
withdrawal symptoms. It’s not long before you have to take heroine
just to feel normal.
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What class is it?
A
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How does it affect the heart?
- Heroin reduces people’s heart rate and blood pressure, and it
can lead to pulmonary oedema – this is where fluid backflows to
your lungs due to the extra strain on your heart, and is a sign of
heart failure.
- Heroin can slow down your breathing rate which can cause
respiratory failure and death from cardiac arrest.
- Injecting heroin increases the risk of endocarditis – a serious heart
condition, which many people with congenital heart disease are
already more susceptible to. There is also obviously a risk of HIV
or hepatitis for anyone injecting drugs.
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What are the other effects on the body?
- There's a risk of death due to inhaling vomit, as heroin stops
the body's cough reflex working properly.
- Injecting heroin can badly damage the veins and can lead to
infection and gangrene – that’s when people’s fingers or limbs
start to rot and have to be removed.
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Useful links
Talk to Frank: www.talktofrank.com
0800 776600
24 hours a day, every day.
Textphone for people with hearing difficulties
0800 9178765
Release:
www.release.org.uk
0845 4500 215
help and legal advice line
(open 11am-1pm for drug or legal advice. 2-4pm drugs advice
only)
References
Talk to Frank
(drugs information service)
www.talktofrank.com
0800 776600
Release
(drugs information service)
www.release.org.uk
0845 4500 215
'Cocaine and the Heart'
New England Journal of Medicine 2003
Vol 348:487-488
Kloner.R, Rezkalla.S
Cocaine Abuse: Repolarisation Abnormalities
and Ventricular Arrhythmias. The American Journal of Medical
Science 2000
Vol 320 (1)
Gamouras.G et al