In School: “The Silent Epidemic” — More and More Young Drug Users in Cyprus, with First Use Starting as Early as School

What is happening with young people?

According to Pavlou, over the past 20 years the number of people using drugs has tripled, while the average age at which use begins has dropped sharply because substances are so widely available.

This year, a 12-year-old boy who had been using for about a year was admitted to the adolescent rehabilitation programme for the first time. The programme for teenagers aged 13–19 has been operating since 2019 with funding from the Cyprus Addiction Treatment Authority; it now has 19 participants and a waiting list of five more. “The increase in drug use among young people is a ‘silent epidemic’ that should frighten and mobilise us,” she says.

What is “Agia Skepi”?

The community has been operating since 1999 on the initiative of the then abbot of Machairas Monastery, now Metropolitan of Limassol Athanasios, and is based in Filani near the village of Politiko.

It is the country’s largest rehabilitation organisation and a member of the European Federation of Therapeutic Communities; its work is based on the cognitive-behavioural model.

Over the years, more than a thousand people have been treated here, and more than 73% of those who complete the programme, according to the community, return to life without drugs. In addition to the residential phase, there are counselling centres in Nicosia and Limassol, separate units for men and women, a “mother and child” programme (including for pregnant women), a social reintegration programme and work with families.

For the first time in 28 years, the community signed an agreement with the state, securing €1.3 million — almost two thirds of its budget; previously, the funds lasted no more than three months of operation.

The new KENTHEA programme — “Achillion”

The executive director of the KENTHEA centre, psychologist Eleni Zarouna, presented “Achillion” — an intensive addiction treatment programme based in Paralimni, licensed by the Cyprus Addiction Treatment Authority and funded by Allwyn.

It is aimed at adults with moderate to severe substance and/or alcohol addiction and consists of four stages: preparation and motivation (1–3 months), the main phase with a daily programme (6–9 months), social and vocational rehabilitation with legal support (3–6 months), and post-treatment follow-up.

For information, call 23740001.

Cyprus on Europe’s map: where is use higher and lower?

Overall, drug use levels in Cyprus are among the lowest in the EU.

The main indicator here is cannabis, as the most commonly used illegal substance; figures for other substances are also low.

Among young people aged 15–34, about 4% of Cypriots tried cannabis in the past year — almost the same as in Greece (4.5%) and clearly below the EU average (15.4%).

The highest levels of use are in Italy (21.5%), Croatia (20.3%) and Spain (19.4%), while the lowest are in Hungary (3.4%), Greece and Portugal.

So Cyprus remains consistently near the lower end of the EU scale. But population surveys do not always capture problematic use and the latest shifts that rehabilitation services are pointing to.