New treatment drug for heroin launched in Dublin

International experts gathered in Dublin today to launch a new heroin treatment drug, Suboxone.

It has been tried and tested and offers another option in the treatment of opiate dependency, one of the objectives of our National Drug Strategy.

There are currently 15,000 heroin addicts in Ireland, half of whom are untreated.

Methadone is currently the main treatment for heroin addiction in Ireland.

Neil Venables is a former heroin addict believes society stereotypes drug addicts.

"The stereotypical view of people on heroin is that they are economically disadvantaged and trying to overcome trauma," said Mr Venables.

"I think in some cases this is very true; there are obviously people out there like that. But the drugs do not see boundaries. You will have people in the higher echelons doing heroin. It's just that the consequences of their heroin are maybe more apparent."