Country overview: Lithuania
- Situation summary
- Data sheet
- Barometer
Contents
- Drug use among the general population and young people
- Prevention
- Problem drug use
- Treatment demand
- Drug-related infectious diseases
- Drug-related deaths
- Treatment responses
- Harm reduction responses
- Drug markets and drug-related offences
- National drug laws
- National drug strategy
- Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs
- Drug-related research
| Year | Lithuania | EU (27 countries) | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2008 | 3 366 357 | 497 455 033 | Eurostat | |
| Population by age classes | 15–24 | 2008 | 15.9 % | 12.6 % 1 | Eurostat |
| 25–49 | 36.1 % | 36.3 % 1 | |||
| 50–64 | 16.8 % | 18.4 % 1 | |||
| GDP per capita in PPS (Purchasing Power Standards) 2 | 2007 | 59.5 | 100 | Eurostat | |
| Total expenditure on social protection (% of GDP) 3 | 2006 | 13.2 % p | 26.9 % p | Eurostat | |
| Unemployment rate 4 | 2008 | 5.7 % | 7 % | Eurostat | |
| Unemployment rate of population agends under 25 years | 2008 | 13.7 % | 15.5 % | Eurostat | |
| Prison population rate (per 100 000 of national population) 5 | 2006 | 237 | Council of Europe, SPACE 2006.1 | ||
| At risk of poverty rate 6 | 2006 | 20 % | 16 % 7 | SILC, 2007 | |
p Eurostat provisional value.
1 2007 figures.
2 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of economic activity. It is defined as the value of all goods and services produced less the value of any goods or services used in their creation. The volume index of GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) is expressed in relation to the European Union (EU-27) average set to equal 100. If the index of a country is higher than 100, this country's level of GDP per head is higher than the EU average and vice versa.
3 Expenditure on social protection contains: benefits, which consist of transfers, in cash or in kind to households and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs.
4 Unemployment rates represent unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force. Unemployed persons comprise persons aged 15 to 74 who were: (a) without work during the reference week; (b) currently available for work; (c) actively seeking work.
5 Situation of penal institutions on 1 September, 2006.
6 Share of persons aged 0+ with an equivalent disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold in the current year and in at least two of the preceding three years.
7 EU-25 countries.
Drug use among the general population and young people
The first national general population survey on drug use in Lithuania was carried out in 2004. The survey was carried out in the line with the EMCDDA guidelines, and was conducted among persons aged 15–64. According to the results, 8.2 % of respondents reported lifetime experience with any illegal drug. Lifetime use of cannabis was reported by 7.6 %; among younger adults (15–34 years), the prevalence was 13 %. Last year prevalence of cannabis use for the whole sample was reported to be 2.2 %.
Similar to many countries in central and eastern Europe, lifetime experience with illegal drugs increased significantly during the 1990s, as shown by the ESPAD surveys conducted in 1995 and 1999. Except for lifetime prevalence rates of inhalants use and heroin, experimentation with illegal drugs increased among students in Lithuania between 1995 and 2007. Data from the ESPAD survey conducted in 2007 show lifetime experience for cannabis, the most frequently illicit drug experimented with among this age group, with 18 % having used cannabis at least once during their lifetime in 2007 (13 % in 2003 and 12 % in 1999). With regard to amphetamines and ecstasy and inhalants, results of the survey indicated a lifetime prevalence of 3 %. Results also showed 12 % for the last year prevalence of cannabis use (11 % in 2003, 10 % in 1999), 5 % for the last month prevalence of cannabis (6 % in 2003, 4 % in 1999). In addition, the reported lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among males was 24 % and 13 % among females.
Prevention
The Lithuanian strategy prioritises prevention of drug use in the family, among children and youths.
Drug prevention projects executed in Lithuania in 2006 and 2007 focused mainly on universal prevention in local communities and schools, aiming at protecting young people against drug use. The universal prevention programme ‘Prevention of use of alcohol, tobacco and psychoactive substances’ was adapted to each age group, and covers pre-school, primary, basic and secondary education. Furthermore, teachers received training on the delivery of this programme. There is now a better overview on projects financed and those projects also have a better implementation and design. Selective and indicated prevention projects in Lithuania were targeted mainly at recreational settings, such as nightclubs, at-risk groups and families. In 2005, the project ‘Clubbing without drugs’, a prevention programme on drug distribution and use in nightclubs, engaged several stakeholders such as managers of nightclubs, representatives of nightclubs, police officers and nightclub personnel.
This programme proved to be very effective for all stakeholders involved. Mass media campaigns and informative approaches (leaflets, etc.) play a key role.
Problem drug use
Using the capture–recapture method, there were estimated to be around 2 167 problem drug users (1 663–2 934) in Vilnius in 2007 (a rate of 4.1–7.3 per 1 000 inhabitants aged 15–64). A provisional estimate of around 4 300 problem drug users and around 3 200 injecting drug users was constructed for the whole country.
The EMCDDA defines problem drug use as intravenous drug use (IDU) or long duration/regular drug use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines. Ecstasy and cannabis are not included in this category.
Treatment demand
In Lithuania, the data collection system for treatment demand is under development. However, it is envisaged that a comprehensive data collection process for treatment demand will be in place, with effect from 2009. In Lithuania, in 2006, a total of 90 outpatient treatment centres submitted treatment demand data out of the 196 centres.
As of 31 December 2007, the healthcare institutions have records of approximately 5 715 individuals registered with dependence disorders caused by drugs and psychotropic substances, out of which 318 were first-time treatment clients, registered during 2007. Data indicate that 80.8 % of all registered clients reported opioids as the primary drug, followed by 2.6 % for amphetamines and 0.6 % for cannabis. A similar distribution was identified among new treatment clients: 70.4 % reported that opioids were the primary drug, followed by 6.6 % for amphetamines and 1.6 % for cannabis.
In 2007, 27 % of all clients entering treatment were aged more than 35 years. Among new treatment clients, 52 % were less than 25 years of age. As far as gender distribution is concerned, 81 % of all clients entering treatment were male, whereas a smaller proportion of 19 % were female. The same pattern in gender distribution was reported among new treatment clients, with 79 % for male and 21 % for female.
Drug-related infectious diseases
In Lithuania, HIV prevalence rates among subgroups of IDUs increased to more than 1 % in 1997, yet remained consistently below 5 % until 2001. In 2007, newly-reported HIV positive cases in Lithuania reached 106 cases (100 cases in 2006). In 2007, out of the 106 cases, 55.6 % (59) were injecting drug users (IDUs). In 2004, users of intravenous drugs comprised 74.8 % of newly-diagnosed HIV cases, compared to 75.5 % in 2003. In Lithuania, regional public health centres, and Centres for Emergency Health (n= 54) send aggregated data on HBV and HCV infection from each territory, to the National Centre for Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control (CCDPC). In 2007, the CCDPC registered 84 persons with acute viral hepatitis B. Among notified cases with known transmission route, 13 % (11) were IDUs in 2007 (15 % in 2006). For acute HCV infections, in 2007 46 persons with acute viral hepatitis C were registered. Out of the 46 registered acute HCV cases, 23.9 % (11) were IDUs (43 % in 2002; 59 % in 2001). For 45.65 % of cases, the transmission route remained unreported.
Drug-related deaths
Data on drug-related deaths are submitted by the General Mortality Register of the Statistics Department of the Republic of Lithuania. DRD cases are those lethal cases where the direct cause of death recorded on the death certificate is due to use of narcotic and psychotropic substances. The data from the registry are compliant with drug-related deaths standards, a standard protocol for extracting data on drug-related deaths from registers in the Member States of the European Union (which includes acute deaths directly related to drug consumption or overdoses). In 2007, 72 direct drug-related deaths were recorded, while in 2006 this number was 62. As regards the distribution by age and sex, the majority of them were males (86.1 %) and the mean age was 33 years.
Treatment responses
Drug treatment in Lithuania is provided mostly by public agencies, followed by private agencies and NGOs. Coordination, implementation and provision of drug treatment is conducted at the local level. The main funding bodies of the different treatment services are the national health insurance, county budgets and Vilnius municipality. Four regional counties and one municipality finance specialised treatment centres at regional level.
In Lithuania, outpatient drug treatment is provided by public mental health centres or by psychiatric clinics, and through private medical institutions that have obtained a special licence. Furthermore, outpatient drug treatment is also provided in Centres for Addictive Disorders. There are five regional public specialised Centres for Addictive Disorders which are located across the country. These centres offer treatment of one to three months by group psychotherapy, acupuncture and counselling, and they also provide methadone treatment. Inpatient treatment such as withdrawal treatment and residential treatment is delivered by the specialised Centres for Addictive Disorders.
Substitution treatment with methadone was implemented in 1996, and treatment commenced in three cities in 1996. Buprenorphine treatment has been available since late 2002, throughout the specialised mental healthcare institutions. According to Order No 702 of the Ministry of Health, methadone and buprenorphine treatment can only be initiated by treatment centres. According to the latest available data, an estimated 395 clients were receiving methadone maintenance treatment on 1 January 2008. In 2007, substitution treatment was used, in total, for 381 persons.
Harm reduction responses
In 1997, the Vilnius Centre for Dependence Diseases, in cooperation with the Open Society Fund in Lithuania, were the first to commence low-threshold programmes for injecting drug users. In 2007, 12 low-threshold units offering needle-exchange, information on behavioural consequences and treatment options operated in eight cities in Lithuania. Since 2001, a mobile outreach needle/syringe exchange point implemented by the Vilnius Centre for Addictive Disorders began to reach the main places where drug users gather. Injecting drug users may exchange needles and syringes, obtain condoms, disinfectant tissues, bandages, educational-informational materials, as well as a short consultation by a social worker and information about the availability of healthcare and social assistance. In 2007, a total of 187 227 syringes were provided in Lithuania, representing a 28 % decrease, compared to 2005. More than half of these were distributed and collected in Vilnius alone. In Klaipeda, the third largest city in Lithuania and the principal seaport of the country, with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, two drop-in rooms are run by the Klaipeda Center for Dependence Disorders, which reach a major proportion of IDUs outside the treatment sphere. Lithuania also participates in transnational projects aiming at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, STDs, hepatitis and tuberculosis across the Baltic States.
Drug markets and drug-related offences
Lithuania is located on the Silk route, along which heroin is smuggled from central Asian states through Russia, the Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states. The number of crimes related to illicit drug trafficking has increased by 400 % since 1992, which is influenced by the fact that harsher laws were adopted in May 2003. According to the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the majority of drug-related crimes concerned the illegal production, acquisition, possession, transportation and dealing with illegal drugs. The largest number of drug-related offences in 2006 were related to cannabis, with 22.3 % of all drug-related offences, followed by heroin with 17.1 % of all drug-related offences.
Amphetamine-type substances and cannabis are the two most consumed psychotropic substances among users in Lithuania. In 2007, there were 259 cannabis seizures followed by 272 heroin seizures. The quantity of seized ecstasy decreased in 2007 when compared to 2006, from 17 583 tablets in 2007 to 38 436 tablets in 2006.
In the last six years, the prices of narcotic and psychotropic substances decreased substantially. In 2000, the average price for cocaine was EUR 80/gram, whereas in 2007, the average price for cocaine was EUR 54.6/gram. Furthermore, the average price for amphetamines in 2000 was EUR 26/gram, whereas in 2007, the average price was EUR 8.7/gram.
National drug laws
Since May 2003, a new penal code entered into force, under which possession of even a small amount of illicit drugs with no intent to distribute is a criminal offence, though this remains an administrative offence. Under the new legislation, possession, acquisition and production of illicit drugs can be sentenced to up to two years' imprisonment or arrest, but without imprisonment if the offence is judged to be a misdemeanour. Traffickers may be sentenced for five to eight years, which rises to 10 and then 15 years, depending on the quantities involved and aggravating circumstances (e.g. involvement of minors or an organised group).
National drug strategy
Lithuania has a ‘National strategy on drug addiction prevention and control 2004–08’ and a ‘National programme for control of drugs and the prevention of drug addiction 2004–08’. The strategy is comprehensive, and has the goal to reduce and curb the spread of drug addiction, thus ensuring state and public security. It focuses on illicit drugs and covers four areas: primary prevention; healthcare/rehabilitation/social reintegration; supply reduction; and research and information. The national programme, which supports the implementation of the strategy, contains a list of measures on drug demand reduction, drug supply reduction, drug use monitoring, information, coordination and international cooperation.
Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs
The Drug Control Department under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania started its activities on 1 January 2004. The most important tasks of the Drug Control Department are: to implement drug prevention and drug control policy, after identifying the principal directions of the implementation of the policy; to organise implementation of drug prevention and drug control measures; and to coordinate other activities of the state and municipal institutions and organisations in the sphere of drug prevention and drug control.
In 2004, the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania formed a permanent Drug Addiction Prevention Commission, consisting of 11 parliamentarians. The objectives of the Commission are to safeguard the interests of the government and to provide favourable conditions for the implementation of national drug policy.
Each of the 60 municipalities has a ‘Municipality Drug Control Commission’. These usually consist of representatives of local institutions (police, education institutions, doctors, social workers, etc.), and the Chairman is usually the Mayor or Vice-mayor. These municipal commissions coordinate different actions, such as prevention, treatment and harm reduction.
Drug-related research
Scientific research is a priority within the new national programme on drug addiction, prevention and control, together with the development of information systems and training on research. The Lithuanian national focal point has a mandate to develop methodological recommendations in this area. It also conducts population surveys and collects information from several governmental, academic and NGO sources on drug-related research, which is disseminated through its annual National report and website. Recent drug-related studies mentioned in the 2008 Lithuanian National report mainly focused on aspects related to consequences of drug use.