Eight persons died from drugs overdose during 2015, Health Minister Chris Fearne said today.

Answering a number of questions in parliament by Nationalist MP Claudio Grech, Mr Fearne also said that between January and October this year, 783,309 syringes were distributed to drug users as well as those suffering from diabetes or other medical conditions.

He said that to eliminate the risk of people accidentally pricking themselves with used syringes, the health department had started distributing w “sharps containers” from health centres so that used syringes could be disposed of in a more secure manner.

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