Health put at risk by homosexuals by abusing drugs
by admin ~ August 27th, 2010.
There is an urgent need for rethinking how addiction agencies and doctors support minority groups as per a Home Office-funded report. This call was made after it was found that gay men and lesbians are far more likely to put their health at risk from drug misuse than the heterosexuals.
Health officials were suggested to try new approaches of prevention like use of use of social networking sites for changing drug-use behavior among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-sexual (LGBT) groups.
From Guardian.co.uk:
The study, led by Professor Haleh Afshar, who is a member of the commission and a crossbench peer, finds:
■ Illicit drug use among LGBT groups is higher than among their heterosexual counterparts
■ LGBT people may also be at risk of misusing other drugs, such as steroids.
■ Use of some types of drugs may be associated with risky behaviour, including exposure to HIV infection.
The report quotes findings from the British Crime Survey which estimate that 10% of heterosexuals took drugs last year, compared with 33% of gay or bisexual people. Explanations vary as to why these groups appear to be heavier drug users than heterosexuals. Tris Reid-Smith, editor-in-chief of the Pink Paper, which is working with the Home Office to publicise the report’s findings, said: “Nobody can know and we’re just guessing. Relatively little research has been done on this subject.”Reid-Smith acknowledged that gay people are often “neophiliacs”. “We tend to be early adopters of technology; maybe we are early adopters of other things too,” he said.
The report by the UK Drug Policy Commission claimed drug services are of modest relevance to many in lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-sexual (LGBT) groups.
Category: Anabolic Steroids | Tags: addiction, drug misuse, steroids