Half of Drug Addictions Are Among Ages 10-30... 2% Are Under 10 Years Old

Assemblyman Park Heeseung, Continuous Increase
Annual Medical Expenses 7.2 Billion KRW...16% Rise Over 6 Years

Nearly half of domestic drug addicts are in their teens to thirties, and their proportion is increasing, highlighting the need for countermeasures.

According to data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to Park Hee-seung, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of the end of June this year, a total of 1,697 people aged 10 to 30 received treatment for drug and narcotics addiction, accounting for 45.7% of the total.

By age group, teenagers numbered 269 (7.2%), people in their twenties 753 (20.3%), and those in their thirties 675 (18.2%), while children under 10 accounted for 77 (2.1%).

The proportion of those aged 10 to 30 among all patients treated for drug addiction has steadily increased from 35.9% in 2019 to 42.7% in 2021 and 44.4% in 2023.

On the other hand, the proportion of people in their forties decreased from 16.8% in 2019 to 14.9% as of June this year, and those in their fifties dropped from 15.5% to 12.6%. During the same period, the sixties decreased slightly from 9.8% to 9.7%, and those aged 70 and above declined from 16.9% to 15.0%.

Treatment for drug and narcotics addiction refers to mental and behavioral disorders caused by the use of various substances, including addiction to drugs and psychotropic substances (hallucinogens), opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives or hypnotics, cocaine, other stimulants including caffeine, hallucinogens, inhalants, multiple drug use, and other psychoactive substances, as classified by disease codes.

With the increase in drug addicts, medical expenses for their treatment are also rising. Comparing years with similar patient numbers, total medical expenses increased by 16.1%, from 6.71349 billion KRW in 2019 (6,712 patients) to 7.16537 billion KRW last year (6,709 patients).

Lawmaker Park emphasized, "Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are crucial to prevent young people's temporary curiosity and deviation regarding narcotics from leading to addiction," adding, "It is necessary to identify narcotics frequently exposed to adolescents and others, and to break the vicious cycle of falling into the swamp through proper treatment and protection."