Some 150,000 Cypriots aged 12 and above meet the clinical criteria for addiction such as nicotine, alcohol or psychotropic drugs and illicit substances, according to a KENTHEA latest study.
Another key finding by the Larnaca-based KENTHEA (Centre for Education about Drugs and Treatment of Drug Addictions) study is that this number is higher than the number of people with heart diseases, diabetes or cancer.
Philenews which has a copy of the study also reported on Sunday that only about 1 in 10 people with an addiction involving alcohol or illicit substances other than nicotine receive any form of treatment.
Scientific director of KENTHEA, psychiatrist Dr. Kyriakos Veresias said: “In recent years, scientific research evidence has been accumulated and it clearly demonstrates that addiction involving smoking, alcohol, controlled prescription drugs and illicit substances – cannabis, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, LSD and others – ultimately ends up becoming a complex brain disease.
“It is a disease that, like other diseases, can and should be diagnosed and treated within the public health system using available evidence-based practices.”
