Nightclubs and bars tend to have a lot of different types of lighting, but whilst much of it is aesthetic and meant to set a mood, other forms of lighting are far more practical and pragmatic in scope.

There are various types of anti-drug lighting used in nightclubs intended to stop the possession of classified drugs, typically through detecting powder substances using UV light to show its use and spread.

However, another useful form of lighting used in public spaces in and around bars and nightclubs is blue lighting, primarily because it does not so much detect drug use and makes it much harder for the use of the most dangerous categories of drugs to take place.

Needle drugs such as heroin are amongst the most dangerous illicit substances money can buy, not just due to the effects of the substances themselves but also the potential for blood diseases to spread through the sharing of needles.

This can be prevented, at least in part, by blue lighting, which makes it far more difficult to find a vein in order to use an injectable drug. Given the potential consequences of injecting outside of the bloodstream, any lack of certainty will often lead to someone deciding not to use it instead.

As these lights are cheap to buy and easy to install, they become a useful deterrent, as part of a multi-pronged approach to stopping drug use.

They are particularly useful in public bathrooms, as well as the toilets in bars and clubs where drug use has a possibility of happening. Whilst someone is unlikely to shoot up on the dance floor, they might try in the relative seclusion of a bathroom stall, and a blue light might be enough to stop them.

It is not a complete solution to drug use, but it is one deterrent used as part of a package of measures.