The 1980s in Britain was an era in which the recorded prevalence and spread of drug use increased among most sectors of the population. In the last five years of the decade, the Home Office Notifications of new drug users (Misuse of Drugs Act, Class 1) increased by 46% and the number of renotifications has also continued to increase. However, these statistics perhaps represent as little as 10% of the overall number of long-term users.

In 1982 in their Treatment and Rehabilitation Report, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended the development of Drug Advisory Committees to co-ordinate local services both within the voluntary and statutory sectors. Since the NHS and Community Care Act Drug Advisory Committees may have a role in advising purchasing authorities.

In its first report, Aids and Drug Misuse (1989), the ACMD stated that 'the spread of HIV is a greater danger to individuals and the public than drug misuse'. This promoted a shift towards harm reduction policies.

It became a priority to draw as many drug users as possible into services, in order to prevent the spread of HIV infection and minimise drug related harm.

By the end of 1986 MPs were debating whether or not to fund needle and syringe exchange programmes; Scottish Office Minister John Mackay told the Commons, 'AIDS is a totally self-inflicted illness', but in 1987 the Department of Health set up a pilot programme to monitor the effectiveness of needle exchanges and mounted the first education programme for injecting drug users in the autumn of 1987. From 1988 onwards an increasing number of drugs projects set up needle exchanges, and the availability of clean needles together with a relatively well developed network of drugs projects and treatment services has played a key role in preventing the spread of HIV in the UK. Policies on drug use and HIV have been far more pragmatic in the UK than many other countries, and are widely regarded as a model for other European countries.