Shifting from heroin to alcohol addiction: descriptive survey

Abstract

Addiction is a disease which affects the relation between the person and the object of his addiction. One of the major risks for people addicted to heroin treated with Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is to develop addiction from another substance, particularly alcohol, while treating heroin addiction, "shifting" this way from heroin addic- tion to alcoholism. describing such "shifting" process within the population taken into considera- tion for this study. dA questionnaire made up of 38 items with multiple choice answer was devised. This was administered to a sample of clients within the ambulatory Pronta Assistenza (Pr.Assi) of the Department for Addiction of a Turin hospital (ASL TO2).Written informed consensus before filling in the questionnaire was acquired and anonymity was assured. The sample is made up by 51 individuals who filled in the questionnaire. Among the sample 46% seem to be at risk of development of alcohol related disease such as, but not only, alcoholism. 28% of them seem to be unaware of using alcohol. Considering all factors which affect the possibility to develop alcoholism while treating heroin addiction with MMT, the fact that alcohol is socially more tolerated than heroin seem to be crucial for the genesis of such a "shifting process": use of huge quantity of alcohol (more than 2UA) is far more tolerated in our socio-cultural environ- ment than use of even lowest quantity of heroin apart from behavioural alteration substance-related.