DRUG use within the South Asian Community is to be the target of a concerted campaign, following a series of talks with Black and minority and ethnic (BME) specialist drug agencies, Asian faith leaders and community centres.

Drug abuse specialists, Phoenix House, have been convinced of the need to develop an information leaflet for Hounslow's diverse community.

Available in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi, the leaflet will be rolled out to first, second and third generation Asians and will be available in audio at a later date.

Phoenix House Chief Executive Bill Puddicombe will take centre stage on Prime TV (Asian network station) Sunday Brunch Show on March 14 at 12.15pm to announce the launch and publication - "Combating Drugs & Alcohol Within Your Community" targeted at the Asian community. An interactive TV show, Bill will be quizzed about the issue of substance misuse, as viewers will be given the opportunity to put their questions to the floor at question time.

Phoenix House hopes that this awareness raising campaign will help to de-stigmatise substance misuse and encourage the Asian community to talk openly about this issue, while working with Phoenix House to end misusers dependency on drugs in a way which sensitively meets the cultural and religious needs of the community.

Margaret Fraites, Inclusion Adviser at Hounslow Primary Care Trust has offered strong support for the campaign. Margaret said: "Chronic drug and alcohol abuse can happen to anyone, often with devastating effects for them and their families. Sometimes, families find they are unable to understand why this has happened and what they can do about it."

The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) has been making headway in understanding the complex relationship between ethnicity and illicit drug use. Following a literature review and the publication of "Black and minority ethnic communities in England" (April 2003), there is now a greater understanding of the needs of the BME community in relation to drugs.

Expressing her support, Julie Clouder, Head of Diversity at the Home Office Drugs Strategy Directorate, said: "If we are to ensure effective delivery of the National Drug Strategy, we must meet the needs of the whole community without discrimination in respect of gender, ethnic background, disability or sexual orientation.

"Minority ethnic users are under-represented in treatment services and have specific needs, which are not always recognised or met. It is important for all providers to ensure that they develop accessible and appropriate services, which are welcoming to all. We very much support the work Phoenix House is doing to engage with the Asian community and wish them every success in this project."

The Asian community in particular tend to be a hard to reach group because of the language barrier and their strong cultural and religious values. The campaign and the launch of this new publication by Phoenix House will be supported by on-going work at Phoenix House services across the UK, building relationships with local community groups and leaders through visits, talks and information days at services.

Florence Olupitan at the Phoenix House London Service Centre said: "We hope that this campaign will mean that our service becomes more widely known to people with substance misuse problems in the Asian Community. People come to us from all walks of life and as everyone knows drugs have no boundaries."

Phoenix House London Adult Residential Service, a 31 bedded centre, will be holding an open day on Thursday 1st April from 2.00 5.00pm at which a spread of community and specialised BME drug agencies will be invited to network and share ideas.

Phoenix House London Adult Residential Services offer a comprehensive range of services such as residential rehabilitation, outreach, aftercare, housing support services and education and skills development programme.

Last year, Phoenix House helped over 6000 people with chronic drug and alcohol problems rebuild their lives across the UK.

For more information on Phoenix House Services visit: www.phoenixhouse.org.uk, or e-mail queries to: info@phoenixhouse.org.uk or telephone Rose Wheeler on: 020 7234 9756.