Treatment of addiction disorders - challenge for society

BELGRADE - A variety of new psychoactive substances and new forms of addiction demand that their treatment and prevention are regarded not only as a psychiatric, but also as a public health and social issue, said the participants of the symposium on 'Addiction Disorders - Trends and Challenges' in Belgrade on Saturday.

Opening the two-day conference that gathered experts from the country and the region, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Prof. Dr. Vladimir Djukic said that the treatment for addiction disorders demands response from the state in various fields.

The medical profession has a responsibility "to organize, in the best interest of the citizens, the treatment of patients suffering from addiction disorders, including the contemporary ones, such as the internet addiction, and other modalities of the disorder that still remain outside the regular, official psychiatry textbooks", Djukic pointed out.

The fact that such patients cannot be committed to hospitals poses an additional problem for the health care capacities, said Dr. Djukic, adding that these patients often have no access to even the basic rights under the health care system.