Economic Analysis of Drug Addiction (Examples from Bulgaria)

Abstract

Background: Nowadays Bulgarian population is facing a number of challenges: economic crisis, demographic ageing and bad general health status. The global burden of mental disorders can be assessed in four ways: prevalence, burden, inequities in the distribution and their impact on other health conditions.

Drug use is a significant health and social problems for the world population. The European Union has more than 2 million problem drug users. The incidence of HIV/AIDS among this contingent represents a major challenge to the public health.

Purpose: To examine the social and economic reasons for drug abuse and its impact on the society; to suggest how problems of drug abuse prevention and control can be addressed in a constructive, coordinated manner.

A study of injecting drug users is conducted in 8 large and medium cities during 5 years period.

Results and discussion: Authors study the socio-economic conditions and analyze their impact on the mental health and drug addiction. About 5% of Bulgarians have tried any drug. There are a large number of heroin addicts and some existing treatment programs. The implementation of a comprehensive new treatment program for heroin addicts is indispensable. Interdependence between life standard, level of education and health status is found out. Conclusion: Serious obstacles to access to health care are the reduced incomes and the increased economic vulnerability of the population. Bad economic and health status are bound into a vicious circle where unemployed people remain out of the health aid scope. As a result poor people’s health limits their access to the labor market, increases their poverty and social isolation. The limited financial resource for the health system has to be allocated and spent more effectively.

Treatment of Addiction is insufficiently accessible and effective. Many of the existing treatment programs are private and are therefore financially inaccessible to users.

Keywords: drug addiction, economic analysis, treatment, prevention

JEL Classification: I11, I18