Albania increasingly spending on medicine

Albanians are getting more and more drunk with medicine. Although the country's population has grown by decline, the import of medicines in Albania has increased at a frightening rate.

Official data from the Statistics Institute shows that in just a decade, drug imports have doubled. Whether in 2008, according to INSTAT Albania imported 93m euros of pharmaceutical products, last year the figure reached 195m euros, Tch reports.

INSTAT statistics show that import of drugs has increased at a double rate year-on-year, showing Albania is becoming sick and spending more and more on medicine.

According to data in 2008, an Albanian spent an average of 37 euros to buy drugs from import. But last year the import of drugs per capita reached nearly 80 euros.

Experts give some reasons why drug consumption has grown so high. The first is the aging population. Official data shows that in the past four years alone, the number of Albanians over 60 has increased by 70 thousand people from 490 thousand to over 560 thousand.

High age is also the primary consumer of drugs, often suffering from chronic illness.

But aging is not the only reason that drug consumption is on a frightening trend of growth. Another cause is increased vulnerability, especially increasing heart disease, tumoral disease, and mental - health diseases.

Meanwhile, according to the Institute of Public Health, another factor that has contributed to the increase in drug consumption is their overuse, often under - the - counter use.