Methadone treatment prevents drug user deaths

Last updated 09 July 2010

A new study in the British Medical Journal has found that methadone treatment improves the survival of drug users and prevents addiction-related deaths.

Methadone is a synthetic opiate which has similar effects to heroin and is manufactured for medical use. Although it does not deliver the same 'high' as heroin, it does help to reduce withdrawal symptoms and enables users to tackle their psychological addiction.


Scientists at the universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Edinburgh analysed drug use patterns of almost 800 injecting users in Edinburgh between 1980 and 2007.

They found that those taking the opiate substitute tended to use heroin less frequently, and that the treatment was associated with a 13 per cent reduced risk of death each year.

However, the number of years of injecting was typically longer for those receiving methadone.

Dr Roy Robertson, from the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences, commented: 'This study confirms that methadone works and works best when prescribed for as long as is needed.

'Even though some users continue to occasionally inject while on methadone, they still gain substantial health benefits from their prescription.'