Drug smoking can lead to severe burns, complicating harm reduction efforts

• The study reports opioid smokers are four times more likely to suffer serious burns than injectors.
• Public health officials warn that this burn risk could undermine the push toward non‑injectable consumption as a safer alternative.
• Harm‑reduction programs may need to expand education on fire safety and provide safer smoking kits to address the new hazard.
• Researchers suggest the findings highlight a trade‑off between reducing infectious disease transmission and increasing acute injury risk.
• Policy makers could be forced to balance funding between needle‑exchange and burn‑prevention resources.