Another unpleasant truth

I try, on this web site, not to stray too far from health issues; health is what I know about.

But heroin has a massive impact on health, and crime, and social cohesion in Britain, and most of the heroin on our streets comes from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is, of course, where substantial numbers of British troops are now deployed, performing their duties with bravery and professionalism: yet now the BBC publishes this on its web site:

The United Nations says opium production in Afghanistan has "soared to frightening record levels" with an increase on last year of more than a third.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime report says the amount of opium produced has doubled in the last two years, and that Helmand province is now the biggest single drug producing area in the world - surpassing whole countries.

Despite billions of dollars of aid and tens of thousands of international troops, the 193,000 hectares of opium poppies grown in Afghanistan this year are now responsible for almost all the world's opiates, according to the UN report.

So, what, we may ask, is British policy in Afghanistan achieving?