United States military authorities, which always acknowledged that the taking of "soft" drugs was prevalent among its troops, has been confronted with a special Congressional report that the use of heroin had made a sharp and dangerous increase.

In the past the use of marijuana had been recognised by the American military authorities, but it was shrugged off as a by-product of war. Special rules were brought in to help those who wanted to give up the habit. They only had to present themselves to a hospital and then undergo treatment.

However until the last few months the taking of "hard" drugs was thought to be only an isolated case. In fact the Army published statistics which said that two soldiers a month died as a result of heroin. Then suddenly about five months ago the death toll rose dramatically. In fact a special Congressional report said that two a Day were dying. The Army has been unable to explain the sudden rise...it's also been unable to say how the troops got the drug, where they got it and why they started taking it on such a scale. However, N.B.C. of America has been able to furnish some of the answers. They obtained an exclusive film taken by a hidden camera at Camp English in South Vietnam, the home of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The film shows troops visiting the home of a South Vietnamese, on whose land the camp stands, and buying heroin. The drug was bought for 15 dollars (6 sterling) compared to about 500 dollars (200 sterling) in American for the same quantity.