Drugs

Recreational and prescription drugs can cause a wide range of problems on a person’s health, including: 

• Lung damage
• Blood-borne viruses
• Cardiovascular disease
• Poor vein health in injectors
• Overdose and drug poisoning
• Arthritis and immobility among injectors
• Liver damage from undiagnosed and untreated hepatitis C virus (HCV)
• Sexually transmitted infections associated with risky sexual behaviour and needle sharing.
• Mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, personality disorder and suicide.

Other associated risks of substance misuse, include:

• Legal issues
• Financial issues
• Accidents and Injury
• Unplanned time of work
• Loss of personal possessions
• Family breakup and social issues
• Violence and antisocial behaviour
• Increased spread of infectious diseases
• Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) where pregnant women use drugs during pregnancy which can cause their baby to go into withdrawal after being born.

The data shows that, in North Tyneside, the rate of drug-specific hospital admissions is 93.2 per 100,000 people, and the rate of drug-related deaths is 12.9 per 100,000.