Drug addiction on the rise in Oman

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by Change | 10 Jun 2010

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The number of people in need of drug addiction intervention is on the rise in Oman.

Increasing numbers of young people are requiring drug addiction support in Oman, with the number of addicts edging over the 1,000-mark last summer.

This is according to the Khaleej Times, which reports that authorities in the Middle East country are using the media as a tool to raise awareness of the issue following the recent deaths of 20 people from drug overdoses.

Colonel Hamad bin Suleiman Al Hatmi, the Royal Oman Police's director of narcotics control, told a press conference that the media know the best ways of addressing drug abuse.

"Likewise, parents should know the proper approach of acquainting children with knowledge about the pitfalls of drugs and narcotics abuse," the newspaper reported him as saying.

There were 1,048 instances of drug addiction recorded in Oman last year, an increase from the 929 documented in 2008.

The number of drug-related crimes has also increased, from 610 in 2008 to 688 last year. The majority of these, 445, were in and around the capital, Muscat.

Last summer, arabianbusiness.com reported that, according to Oman's ministry of health, the rise in drug abuse was particularly prevalent among school and college girls.

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