More people dying from drug overdoses in Russia

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by Change | 1 Jun 2010

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A steep rise in the number of drug addicts has been recorded in Russia.

Increasing numbers of people in Russia are dying after taking overdoses, new data from the country's health care authorities has revealed.

There has been a five-fold increase in the death rate from drug overdoses since 2006, according to the findings, while a 44 per cent rise in alcohol-related deaths was also recorded, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

It is believed that this number could be far higher, with senior health officials suggesting these figures could be surpassed seven times if all fatalities were recorded. As it stands, large numbers of Russians refuse to report that they are in need of drug or alcohol addiction intervention.

According to the news agency, the country is suffering particularly badly from the quantity of opium produced in Afghanistan, with estimates suggestion that 90 per cent of heroin in Russia originated in the country before being trafficked through Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Figures from the Federal Control Service have revealed that Afghan heroin is responsible for the deaths of approximately 30,000 Russians every year.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has estimated that the number of Russians requiring drug addiction support has increased ten-fold over the last decade.

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