An astounding number of children in Britain are taking heroin.
According to government figures released in February based on a nationwide survey, up to 35,000 children under 16 in Britain are using the drug. Doctors refer to this problem as a ticking “health time bomb” and warn that heroin abuse could cause serious long-term damage to children’s health.
To battle this problem, the Department of Health is ensuring schools receive guidance on drug usage. Yet the numbers are still expected to rise, and here is why: A narcotics expert from Glasgow University states that around 300,000 children growing up in the UK have one or both parents addicted to heroin.
These young people grow up thinking heroin use is normal.
The Department of Health can give all the guidance it wants, but if parents don’t take responsibility for their own drug problems, the situation will only grow worse. Even if the parents aren’t addicts, the responsibility falls largely on them to educate their children and create a loving environment. Then children wouldn’t be looking for meaning, answers and comfort from the contents of a syringe.