Accompanied by three former heroin addicts, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) yesterday encouraged drug addicts to participate in the government's methadone program.
“Approximately 12,000 heroin addicts are now taking methadone. We hope to encourage more to do so,” Yeh told a press conference at the DOH.
Yeh said that he had invited the three former addicts — Huang (黃), Hsiao-ju (小如) and Yang (楊) — to share their experiences as many heroin addicts did not believe that methadone works despite the government's efforts at promoting the program.
“This program helps heroin addicts quit drugs and live a normal life. They are like sick people who are taking medicine. I am sick as well. I take medication for high blood pressure every day,” Yeh said.
The three patients were from the DOH's Taoyuan Mental Hospital, where they are participating in the methadone program.
Huang, 42, who has been taking methadone for more than two years, said that he had been on heroin for more than a decade and spent more than NT$1 million on it. After being released from Hsinchu Prison after serving time for drug-related charges in April 2006, a friend suggested he try methadone.
“The best thing about methadone is that you do not feel the pain of quitting heroin. It's just like taking medicine,” Huang said. “You can lead a normal life, have a job and a family.”
Huang said he is now helping out with the family business while looking for a full-time job.
Hsiao-ju, 27, said that she began by taking amphetamines.
“I was in the escort business when I was 17 and I wanted to get slimmer,” she said. “But my husband and I ended up on heroin and I continued until I was 24.”
She said she had been on methadone for more than a year and is working a regular job at the moment.
Yang, 31, was jailed between 2006 and 2007 on drug charges. He began his methadone rehabilitation in July 2007. He now works as a gardener and says he is satisfied with what he has.
“I spend about NT$3,000 per month on methadone but it is worth every penny,” he said.
Taoyuan Mental Hospital attending psychiatrist Chou Sun-yuan (周孫元) suggested that patients who join the program take methadone for one to three years.
“Patients also have to report to the hospital every day, because methadone is prohibited and one dose only lasts for 24 hours,” Chou said.
Overdoses of methadone can be dangerous as it can cause difficulty breathing, Chou said, adding that constipation is a major side effect.
Yeh said that the DOH would look for additional funding to help more heroin addicts join the program.
“By helping them, we are also helping reduce the number of new AIDS cases,” Yeh said.
He said that addicts could seek help at 77 hospitals nationwide or call 0800-770-885 for information.
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
‘OFFSHORE OPERATIONS’: Also in Dallas, Texas, the Ministry of Economic Affairs inaugurated its third Taiwan Trade and Investment Center to foster closer cooperation The 2025 Taiwan Expo USA opened on Thursday in Dallas, Texas, featuring 150 Taiwanese companies showcasing their latest technologies in the fields of drones, smart manufacturing and healthcare. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event’s organizer, said the exhibitors this year include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer; AUO; PC brand Asustek Computer; and drone maker Thunder Tiger. In his opening speech, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said he expected Texas to become a world-class center for innovation and manufacturing as US technology companies from Silicon Valley and Taiwanese manufacturers form an industrial cluster
A 20-year-old man yesterday evening was electrocuted and fell to his death after he climbed a seven-story-high electricity tower to photograph the sunset, causing a wildfire on Datong Mountain (大同山) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), the Taoyuan Police Department said today. The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was accompanied on an evening walk by a 20-year-old woman surnamed Shang (尚) who remained on the ground and witnessed the incident, capturing a final photograph of her friend sitting atop the tower before his death, an initial investigation showed. Shang then sought higher ground to call for help, police said. The New Taipei
RSS