Experts sound alarm over shisha use among young people
Experts at the Greek Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals (KETHEA) are warning that the shisha drug, which caused the death of a 16-year-old girl in Athens last week, has spread as a recreational narcotic for young people.
“Shisha has been prevalent in the center of Athens for the last decade. The reasons are its price, but also the underestimation of its danger. Users do not consider it to be something special,” KETHEA head Iordanis Pertetsoglou told Kathimerini.
The new reality concerning addictive substances is the rapid decline in popularity of heroin and opioids and the increase in stimulants use.
KETHEA said that whereas in the previous decade up to 2015, 85% of requests were for heroin detoxification, now only one in three apply for opioids. Some 35-37% seek help for cannabis use and one in four seek help for cocaine use.
Shisa is a methamphetamine-based narcotic that is either smoked or injected.
