Methadone 'works over long term'

METHADONE treatment improves long-term survival of drug users and reduces the risk of death with each year of treatment, a study involving Edinburgh University has shown.

The research found that opiate substitution treatment reduced the frequency of drug use and led to a drop in the risk of death by 13 per cent each year.

However, the study also showed that treatment did not reduce the overall duration of injecting.

The team analysed the drug use patterns of almost 800 injecting drug users in Edinburgh from 1980 to 2007.

Dr Roy Robertson, a GP who led the study at Edinburgh University, said: "These results confirm that methadone works and works best when prescribed for as long as is needed in what is a chronic condition."