DRUG related deaths in Cyprus are above the European average, according to research presented yesterday in the presence of the Health Minister.
The overall social cost of illegal drugs in Cyprus is similar to the average of other countries where similar studies has been conducted, according to research carried out by French professor Pierre Kopp of the Pantheon-Sorbonne University.
Drug addiction causes losses in Cyprus each year estimated at more than €30 million.
The research was carried out by the Cyprus Antidrug Council, under the monitoring of the Cyprus Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EKTEPN), with the guidance of Professor Kopp.
The research was carried out under the auspices of the Antidrug Council, with the aim of promoting it as a useful tool of planning and for mapping out policy.
Health Minister Christos Patsalides explained yesterday that “the term ‘social cost’ refers to the cost of prevention, treatment, repression, loss of human resources and reduction of productivity”. The analysis of such a cost, can contribute to a better understanding of the extent of the phenomenon of illegal substance abuse, Patsalides said.
The minister said that beyond the aspects that are linked with addiction, there are also other parametres such as criminality, mortality, disease and wider social and environmental consequences that should not be overlooked.
Professor Kopp said the study evaluated mortality, the diseases and the cost that is directly linked with the illegal substances in Cyprus during 2006. Kopp said that the number of individuals that used heroin and cocaine in 2006 amounted to 801, and the number of deaths in that year was 17.
“A drug-free world would improve the welfare of the people,” Kopp said .
He stressed that the social cost of illicit substances in Cyprus is approximately on the same levels with other European countries, such as France and Spain.
According to the research, Cyprus pays a lot of attention to prevention, while on the contrary a small percentage of funds are spent on treatment and very little for the reduction of the damage. This is supported by the fact that while the predominance in the general population is considerably lower than the average of other European countries, nevertheless the contagious diseases and mortality rate in Cyprus are found at fairly high levels.
Kopp said that in the health sector drug-related issues cost €2.7 million, of which €1.4 million are for hospital care and €0.85 million come from NGOs. He underlined that the contribution of the state was double that of the NGOs, but was nevertheless small compared to what NGOs were paying out.
In the prevention and research sector €5.6 million are also funded, while €20 million go on law enforcement.
The cost in lost productivity is estimated at €2.5 million.
The Health Minister said the primary aim of the research was to give the appropriate importance to the subject of illicit substances at decision-making level. Second, to evaluate the effectiveness of all existing drug-related policies and the programmes and action that aim at the reduction of the harmful consequences of illegal substance abuse.
“We are launching an important programme next week, where we will be doing an evaluation of the treatment methods that victims follow in these cases in order to see if the treatments work and in what way they can be improved.”
