A quarter of a million drug addicts — that was one of the most serious consequences of the Vietnam War. But these addicts are not American servicemen; they are the citizens of the South, and of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.

Changing the Needle is the story of how an under-developed and war-ravaged country is dealing with a problem now common throughout the world. Shot in 1981 by three Australian women, it is the first in-depth film to be made about Vietnam's unique approach to drug rehabilitation.