Drug abuse in Pakistan - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

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<strong>Drug</strong> <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g
<strong>Drug</strong> <strong>in</strong>jection among the sample
Traditionally drug-<strong>in</strong>jection has not been a common route of adm<strong>in</strong>istration for <strong>Pakistan</strong>i
hero<strong>in</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs. In the 1993 exercise, 92.5% of hero<strong>in</strong> users were smok<strong>in</strong>g the drug, usually by
“chas<strong>in</strong>g the dragon”—where hero<strong>in</strong> is heated on alum<strong>in</strong>um foil and the fumes <strong>in</strong>haled. It was
noted with concern at this time that a small number (1.8%) of hero<strong>in</strong> users reported <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g,
as were a small number of the users of synthetic opiates.
By comparison, <strong>in</strong> the present 2000 study, 15% of hero<strong>in</strong> users reported that <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g was their
usual mode of hero<strong>in</strong> adm<strong>in</strong>istration. Moreover, when asked if they had ever <strong>in</strong>jected, a surpris<strong>in</strong>gly
high 31% of the total sample reported they had. Of those subjects who had ever
<strong>in</strong>jected a drug, 88% (27% of the entire sample) had done so <strong>in</strong> the year prior to <strong>in</strong>terview (or,
where relevant, <strong>in</strong> the year prior to enter<strong>in</strong>g treatment or prison). This mode of adm<strong>in</strong>istration
is associated with particularly deleterious consequences for the <strong>in</strong>dividual. It is therefore
one of the most worry<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g of this study that <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g drug use is now a common practice
among <strong>Pakistan</strong>i hero<strong>in</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs. Data on <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g rates are summarized <strong>in</strong> table 18.
Table 18.
Summary of <strong>in</strong>ject<strong>in</strong>g practices
Percentage
Hero<strong>in</strong> users who usually <strong>in</strong>jected as ma<strong>in</strong> route of adm<strong>in</strong>istration 15
Whole sample who had ever <strong>in</strong>jected 31
Treatment sample who had ever <strong>in</strong>jected 30
Street sample who had ever <strong>in</strong>jected 30
Prison sample who had ever <strong>in</strong>jected 33
Karachi respondents who have ever <strong>in</strong>jected 55
Lahore respondents who have ever <strong>in</strong>jected 30
Quetta respondents who have ever <strong>in</strong>jected 14
Peshawar respondents who have ever <strong>in</strong>jected 12
Whole sample who had <strong>in</strong>jected <strong>in</strong> the last year 27
Inject<strong>in</strong>g use varied between the cities studied. The majority (65%) of those who had ever
<strong>in</strong>jected a drug were <strong>in</strong> Karachi, where they comprised more than half (55%) of all drug addicts
<strong>in</strong>terviewed <strong>in</strong> the city. In Lahore, 30% of all drug users <strong>in</strong>terviewed had <strong>in</strong>jected (24% of all
<strong>in</strong>jectors). This figure fell to 14% <strong>in</strong> Quetta (12% of the total <strong>in</strong>jectors), and 12% <strong>in</strong> Peshawar
(9% of all <strong>in</strong>jectors). Previous recent research reports had identified drug <strong>in</strong>jection <strong>in</strong> some
areas of <strong>Pakistan</strong>, notably Karachi, but data from this study suggest that this behaviour is now
widespread, be it at vary<strong>in</strong>g rates of prevalence. Inject<strong>in</strong>g drug use is a behaviour that is known
to diffuse quickly under certa<strong>in</strong> conditions.
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