Average age of Kazkahstan drug addicts is 20

The average age of Kazakhstan drug addicts is 20 years, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing Oleg Yussopov, coordinator of the report on drug addition in Kazakhstan as saying at the presentation of the national report. Yussopov is a psychology expert at the National Research and Practical Center for Medical and Social Problems of Drug Addiction. “The average age of registered drug users in Kazakhstan is 20 years. For heroin and opium it is 22. This data covers all the territory of Kazakhstan,” Yussopov said. According to him, there are 40 000 registered drug addicts in Kazakhstan at present. The number is smaller that in the previous years. The majority of young people addicted to heroin live in northern regions of Kazakhstan and these regions are considered the most troubled ones. “The highest concentration of heroin addicts is registered in Pavlodar, Kostanay and Karaganda cities, that’s why these cities are considered the most 'difficult' ones.”