Drug addicts approaching the government for treatment soared by 97.2 percent in 2015, Social Solidarity Minister Gahda Wali said in a press statement on Tuesday.
Therapy- and rehabilitation-seekers calling the hotline of the ministry’s Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction increased to 18,703, that is 97.2 percent higher than in 2014, according to Wali.
Males accounted for 96.3 percent of callers during the first half of 2015, down from 98.1 percent during the first half of 2014, said Wali. The rate, however, surged among women to 3.7 percent.
The largest number of callers during the first half of 2015, 7,225, came from Cairo, accounting for 37.8 percent of calls. The capital is followed by Giza (17.7 percent) and Alexandria (9.5 percent).
Rehab and addiction therapy centers increased to 16, up from 13 last year, Wali said.
Out of the total number of callers, 22.9 percent said they became addicts between the ages of 15 and 20.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
