Russia: 80 Addicts Die Every Day

Russia has a significant drug problem.

Russia's top anti-drugs official has revealed that more than 80 people in the country die every day from drug use and has warned that the number of addicts is surging.

Viktor Ivanov, the head of the Federal Drug Control Agency, has said the increase in the number of addicts in Russia is starting to indicate an epidemic.

He said every day more than 250 Russians are becoming addicted, and that drugs are killing more than 80 daily.

Mr Ivanov has said there are 537,000 drug users registered in Russia.

Another source estimates the actual number of Russian drug users at 5.5 million.