In our last issue we reported on the deaths from contaminated heroin of nearly forty heroin users in Scotland, Ireland and England.

The English deaths were mainly in Manchester but a few cases have occurred elsewhere. According to Public Health Authorities, the outbreak (caused by a bug called "Clostridium") is now tailing off. The course of the illness appears to go like this: users inject heroin into a muscle or under the skin (either accidentally or deliberately) and have redness, swelling and pain at the injection site. Although fewer cases have been reported no one can be certain that the danger from heroin contaminated with the bug is over. It may be one batch of heroin or it could be a number of batches. Nobody knows. So continue to take precautions. The most recent advice from the medics is on page 3. Yet again we comment on the difference in the media reporting and reactions of politicians to the deaths of these largely poor, unemployed working class drug users with the death of Leah Betts from Ecstasy. Junkies don't count, it seems.