Heroin and crack cocaine users in treatment falls

The number of heroin and crack cocaine users needing treatment in England has fallen by 10,000 in two years.The National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse said the number of adults that began treatment for the class A drugs fell from 62,963 in 2008/09 to 52,933 in 2010/11.The steepest decline was in the under-30 age group.The number of people accessing treatment for all drugs also fell for the second year running.The latest figures also show an increase in the number of drug users "recovering" from addiction - people who no longer need treatment.Some 27,969 users were classed as recovering in 2010/11, a rise of 18% on the previous year and 150% higher than 11,208 in 2005/06.The figures showed that, of the 255,556 people who entered a drugs treatment programme since April 2005 for the first time, 28% (71,887) had successfully completed the course and did not need further treatment.Paul Hayes, the NTA's chief executive, said the figures, showed that "recovery is now becoming a reality for more individuals each year"."More drug users are recovering from addiction, fewer need treatment, and more are getting over their addiction quickly."The fact that the next generation are getting the message that hard drugs wreak damage to individuals and communities is very positive, for them and the rest of society," he said. 'But he warned that addiction remained a "serious problem" for many communities."We need to remain vigilant, particularly in a tough economic climate," he added.Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, said it was "hugely encouraging" that young people were shunning heroin and crack cocaine.He said underlying drug use still needed tackling, and it was important "not to let our guard down"."While these figures suggest that fewer young people were turning to crack and heroin, Addaction is concerned that an older generation of long-term problem users remains; causing huge problems not only for themselves, but for their children."And we know that the children of this group are more likely to develop their own problems."So, while we hope today's figures prove to be a milestone in the tackling of t