How much do drug abusers pay for drugs in Bangladesh?

Drug abuse is an alarming problem in Bangladesh where there are 1.7 million drug abusers (1). The number is increasing greatly over recent years. Among drug abusers, intravenous drug use has the potential to turn a slow HIV epidemic into an explosive and devastating one, as was observed in Thailand and northern India (2,3). Drug use shortens life expectancy, decreases productivity, increases absenteeism from workplace and schools, and is linked to higher cost of medical care, accidents, crime, and high-risk sexual behaviour (4,5).