Drug addiction costs the UAE Dh5.5 billion each year

The Nation Rehabilitation Centre claims that the cost of treatment and loss of productivity as a result of addiction is costing the economy millions of dirhams each year.

ABU DHABI // Drug addiction is costing the UAE a total of Dh5.5 billion every year, according to the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC).

The cost includes losses in productivity due to addiction and the cost of treatment, as well as other factors, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister publication of The National.

The statistics were revealed at a workshop on “mechanisms on setting up a national drug-monitoring system” that kicked off on Monday and concludes on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

The workshop aims to discuss the history and objectives of drug centres.

The NRC said the figure was part of findings of a national survey on the economic burden of drug use, conducted by the NRC in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The full results of the survey will be released in May.