3.5 mln drug addicts in Russia

According to expert estimates, from 3 mln to 3.5 mln Russians abuse drugs - at least, that is the figure provided by the working group of the State Council Presidium, which gathered on Tuesday to discuss ways of combating drug trafficking and drug abuse. Authors of the report particularly emphasize that drug abuse is becoming a common occurrence among youth and teenagers. Sociological surveys show that young people are familiar with the effects, or at least heard of them from friends, of more than 100 different drug-containing and psychotropic substances.

The age at which teenagers start using drugs has dropped to 11 years old - 6.5 years less than that registered in 1991. In all, teenagers and young people aged between 12 and 22 make up 44.8% /4.9 mln people/ of the total amount of people who use drugs or have tried them at least once.

On the eve of the session, a Kremlin source told RIA Novosti that drug abuse must be regarded as a specific problem of the young - a problem that is linked directly with the country's development. "The loss of a whole generation may result in global social and economic problems, which may eventually start hindering the country's development," stressed the source.