Demand for drug addiction help on the rise in Lebanon

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by Change | 12 May 2010

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Lebanon is seeing an increase in the number of young people seeking drug addiction help.

Increasing numbers of people are seeking the help of drug addiction centres in Lebanon as the country struggles to cope with the number of young people becoming addicts.

According to Skoun, a drug addiction facility based in the capital, Beirut, Lebanon is home to between 10,000 and 15,000 drug addicts, three-quarters of whom are addicted to heroin, The Daily Star reports.

Nadya Mikdashi, the centre's director, said a lack of a large-scale research means that there could be far more people in need of drug addiction support in the Middle Eastern country.

"A lot of the studies have largely focused on Beirut and not other areas, so the real number of addicts could be far higher in reality," she explained to the newspaper.

"Worryingly, we have seen the number of submissions grow in recent years."

Ms Mikdashi went on to say that psychological support is the key behind successful drug addiction programmes, with Skoun treating approximately 120 patients every year.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, heroin laboratories exist in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where opium from south-west Asia is processed into the illegal drug.

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