General Chat

what defines a dug addict, surely those that are addicted to alcohol, nicotine, anti-depressants, etc... are they all to benefit from quitting? would make a very interesting test case in court. bryan.

This is the problem Jeanette. While I agree that those addicted to drugs need all the help they can get to get off them, and if those kind of incentives do work, then all well and good. Alcoholics need the same help, not necessarily with shopping vouchers, but some kind of incentive too....what do they get? Smoking is a contentious issue, but being a hardened smoker myself, I do know that the addiction is a very real one too. Strangely the law now shows us as social outcasts for using a legal substance, but thats another debate. On the other hand, all OUR money is spent on vouchers for addicts, but there isn't the cash to spare for treatment for breast cancer, or alzheimers....

Will they be offering the same for those wanting to give up fags and booze? I doubt it, so why should druggies get incentives?

Surely this is just another way of taking away from others who are more deserving ? Lin x

Stick them om an uninhabited island and let them all go cold turkey John

From the BBC News site.... Drug addicts receiving treatment should be given shopping vouchers to encourage them to kick their habit, an NHS body has suggested. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence accepts the idea for England and Wales is controversial. But evidence from international trials shows modest financial incentives can cut drug abuse by hardened addicts. Users could get vouchers worth up to £10 at NHS treatment programmes - if tests show they are free of drugs. I don't think it's bribery - I think it's an effective treatment that brings real benefit Mr Stephen Pilling Consultant clinical psychologist NICE says the idea would be cost-effective, and there would be a public health benefit because addicts could also be screened for infectious diseases - such as HIV and tuberculosis. The proposal for an incentive scheme is contained in draft guidance on how the NHS in England and Wales should handle drug misuse. Debates about how NHS money should be spent have intensified in recent years. NICE will soon face its first legal challenge when groups angry about restrictions on drugs for Alzheimer's Disease challenge its processes. What do you think?

mo...