14 Jul 2015 16:10

Russia sees drug addict numbers fall by one million - anti-drug agency

MOSCOW. July 14 (Interfax) - Russia now has fewer drug users, says Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia's Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN).

"The analysis of the drug situation shows a drop in the number of drug users from eight million to nearly seven million people," he told senior FSKN officials in Moscow on Tuesday.

This is a result of the reduction of the 'black market' for illicit drugs, he said.

The agency said earlier there were about eight million drug addicts in Russia, 1.5 million of whom were using Afghan heroin. Each year drugs kill up to 90,000 young people, according to the FSKN.