§ Mr. STUART RUSSELLasked the Home Secretary whether he proposes to take any further action with regard to the statement in a report issued by the League of Nations to the effect that there are 30,000 drug addicts in the United Kingdom?
1766W
§ Mr. LLOYDAs I explained in my reply on the 27th May to a question by the hon. Member for Kingswinford (Mr. A. Henderson) the statement in question purported to be based on a report of the Opium Section of the League of Nations Secretariat. The report, which has now been withdrawn from circulation, included a statement showing for each of 59 countries (including the United Kingdom) how many drug addicts there would be in each of these countries on the assumption that the proportion of addicts to population was the same as it was estimated to be in Germany, the United States and Egypt. On this wholly unfounded assumption it was calculated that the figure for the United Kingdom would be 4,600, 46,000 or 92,000, according as to whether Germany, the United States or Egypt were taken as the basis of computation. My right hon. Friend does not propose to take any action in the matter.