A plurality of Britons (44%) say that both circumstances beyond a person’s control and personal choices are equally responsible for someone’s drug addiction. Three in ten (31%) think it’s primarily down to personal choices, and 16% that it’s mostly down to life circumstances.
One in four Britons (24%) think that people who are drug addicts should be dealt with mainly by the NHS, while 19% think this should be more the job of the police and the courts.
However, a plurality (44%) think both the courts/the police and the NHS should have equal responsibility in dealing with drug addicts.
Among Britons aged up to 40, a third (32-37%) say drug addicts should be primarily dealt with by the NHS, falling to one in five (18-22%) among those in the older age cohorts.
A majority (55%) of Britons would break up with someone who had a drug problem and didn’t want to do anything about it.
One in five (18%) would end a relationship even if their partner wanted to do something about it. Women (21%) are more likely than men (15%) to hold this view.
Just 9% of Britons would not leave someone if they had a drug problem, with those aged 16-24 being most likely to say this (13%). One in four (24%) Britons who say they currently take drugs would not leave a partner if that person had a drug problem.
