People reliant on soft drugs

PEOPLE who abuse commonplace painkillers like Panadol or Solpadeine can be just as addicted as those who take hard drugs, according to an expert in addiction control.

John Donoghue, programme director of the Hanly Centre, an addiction counselling service, said what mattered was the effect of the substance and not the amount or the manner which it was ingested.

“It doesn’t matter whether it is snorted, swallowed or injected,” he said yesterday. “It means the person is not in control of their lives and needs medical attention.”