One in five have taken party pills

There are many types of party pill. File picture / Northern Advocate

The proportion of people using party pills is as high as one in five, new research has found.

The study, the first of four research projects commissioned by the Ministry of Health on party pill or BZP use and its effects, found the number of New Zealanders dabbling in "legal highs" was much higher than previously thought.

The chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Drugs, Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton, said he was concerned about drug use and "the tragic consequences it can have on young people's lives".

"We know very little about the long-term effects of party pills in general and BZP in particular. This is why the Government has commissioned research to find out more," he said.

The Government might consider outlawing them in the future, he said.

According to research by Massey University's Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE), one in seven people in the phone survey had used legal party pills over the past year.

About half said they had taken them only once or twice in that period.

Mr Anderton said the information from the study would be referred to the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) to consider at its next meeting scheduled in July.

The committee would be reviewing the status of BZP when more evidence on its dangers were known, he said.

"The EACD will then consider what further measures might be warranted to reduce the potential for harm.

"This might involve further regulating the manufacture and supply of BZP or, potentially, recommending that it be made illegal."

About half the party pill takers said they had suffered from sleep problems.

Other side effects included poor appetite, hot and cold flushes, heavy sweating, stomach pain and nausea, headaches, tremors and shakes, loss of energy, strange thoughts and mood swings.

Party pills are legal but they cannot be sold to under 18-year-olds or advertised in major media -- TV, radio or print.

About 60 per cent of all people surveyed said they supported tougher regulation of party pill sales.

The latest research showed 20 per cent of those surveyed had tried party pills or BZP and 15 per cent had used them over the past year.

Use was greatest among 18 to 24-year-olds with up to 38 per cent saying they had taken them over the past year.

Nearly half of these people supported prohibition of party pills.

Reports from the other studies were expected over the next six months.

Q&A

* What are party pills?
Party pills are sold under a wide range of product names including Charge, Kandi and Red Hearts.

The main active ingredients are benzylpiperazine (BZP) and triflurophenylmethylpiperazine (TFMPP). BZP has been found to have effects similar to low potency amphetamine while TFMPP is reported to have effects similar to ecstasy.

* What has been done so far?
In March 2004, the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) decided there was insufficient evidence to classify BZP and related substances as either Class A, B or C, and recommended that research into BZP prevalence and harm be commissioned.

In June 2005, BZP was classified under the newly created Schedule 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2005 as a Restricted Substance.

The sale and supply of BZP is restricted to those 18 years old and over and the advertising of party pills in mainstream media is prohibited.

- NZPA