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by Change | 5 Sep 2008

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Severe drug dependency affects less than one percent of the world’s population, The World Drug Report 2008 has revealed.

The report, carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), states that drug control has helped to stablilise the number of problem users worldwide.

The findings also reveal that the use of legal drugs contributes to the death toll far more significantly than illegal substances. Out of the 26 million people affected, tobacco is responsible for 5m, with around 200,000 deaths from illegal drug use. The number of people who have tried drugs in the last year has also fallen dramatically. Surveying those aged 15-64, this amounts to fewer than one in ten.

drug abuse results inaccurate?

These figures could be undermined, however, by the increase in drug use among developing countries. The report states that in rebel-controlled regions of Afghanistan and Columbia, for example, the increase in opium and coca cultivation could be a threat to stabilisation worldwide. Where opium is concerned this is an issue of supply and demand, with widened availability of the drug leading to falling prices in Europe. Afghanistan has also taken over from Morocco as the leading producer of cannabis resin, a market which remains relatively stable.

UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa identified prevention and cure as key factors in stabilising drug use worldwide.

'Drug dependence is an illness that should be treated like any other,' she said. She called upon a 'stronger public health focus' as a vital component of this task.

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