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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Drug abuse affects society as a whole

Belgrade, 24 June 2005

Serbian Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic said today that after the adoption of the regulation on illicit drug manufacture, created by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior, control of drug trafficking will be much more severe.

Author: FoNet

At a press conference organised on occasion of June 26, the World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Milosavljevic said that he is optimistic in respect to reducing drug related crime and preventing drug addiction.

The Minister of Health said that drug abuse is not just an individual problem rather it affects society as a whole and added that the key to solving drug abuse lies in preventive measures to be applied by doctors.

Dragan Ilic, who is President of the National expert group for health and development of youth at the Serbian Ministry of Health, said that a pilot project entitled “Drug Abuse Prevention in Schools” is currently underway in 12 schools in the Zemun and Valjevo municipalities, and has the aim of helping schools prevent drug abuse among their pupils more effectively.

If the results of this project, which has been financed by the Norwegian government, are positive by the end of the year, he announced that this programme would be offered to the Ministry of Education and Sport as a model for all schools.

UNICEF Programme Coordinator Mary Black pointed out that young people in transition countries are especially susceptible to drug abuse as drugs are cheaper than in other countries.

Black stressed that young people should play an active role in drug abuse prevention and find solutions to this problem together. She added that it is necessary to establish a clearly defined policy and develop services for preventing and treating drug addiction.

According to data of the Belgrade Institute of Public Health, the number of registered drug addicts in Belgrade is steadily increasing, and last year there were 4,013 persons. There is no accurate data for all of Serbia, but the figure has been estimated from between 30,000 and 100,000.