490 people in Armenia apply for treatment from drug addiction in 2008

PanARMENIAN.Net - Over the past 7 years, the number of people applied for treatment in Drug addiction Center of the RA Ministry of Health grows by 100 per cent every year and the number of drug addicts increases by 10 percent in Armenia.



If in 2001 7 people applied for treatment from drug addiction, then in 2008 the number reached 490, Petros Semerdjyan, head of the Drug addiction Center of the RA Ministry of Health told a press conference in Yerevan today.



"Among the countries of the region Armenia has the most encouraging data. We have registered 1141 drug users, while the number of drug addicts reaches 28 thousand in Azerbaijan, 45 thousand in Georgia and to a terrible figure of 3.5 million in Iran, " Petros Semerdjyan said.



"In our country the treatment from drug addiction is free, it can last between 10 days to 6 months, but addiction can be obtained with one intravenous, " Petros Semerdjyan said.



He also assured that the addiction is not explained by mentality.