Hendrik Streeck: Expanding prevention for addiction

In the opinion of Addiction and Drugs Commissioner Hendrik Streeck, Germany must do more to prevent addiction, especially among young people. It is a question of resilience, of being able to say no, explained the CDU politician after a meeting with Saxony's Health Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) in Dresden. Education and early prevention are extremely important. Young people need to learn what drugs and addictions can do and how to solve problems differently.

Addiction is still too often seen as a marginal issue

"We have ten million addictions in Germany. But it's not just about sheer numbers, but about concrete fates, where families, children, parents, friends or colleagues are also affected. Overall, it is a problem for society as a whole that is far too often seen as a marginal issue," Streeck told the German Press Agency.

Dependency disorders have enormous consequences for society

According to Streeck, this is not only a health problem, but also an economic one. Addictions cost the healthcare system many billions of euros. "In the case of tobacco, this amounts to around 30 billion euros per year in direct costs. The damage to the economy is also over 60 billion euros due to lost working hours, early retirement and much more."

"We are currently observing two different developments. For the most part, young people are much more health-conscious. They smoke less and drink less alcohol. That's a positive development for now," emphasized Streeck. However, there is also another milieu of young people who have become very keen to experiment and take risks and want to try everything at once.

"Ultimately, it's about life skills"

"Overall, I do believe that education and prevention are extremely important in a world where everything is now available via the internet. Anyone can get basically anything at any time. Education and strengthening health literacy must ensure that young people know better what is good for them and what is bad for them," says Streeck. He himself would have liked to see "health literacy" as a school subject - perhaps in combination with media literacy. Ultimately, it's about life skills.

Support for Streeck's concerns from Saxony

Köpping supports Streeck in his efforts to improve prevention when it comes to drugs, alcohol and other addictions. She is also in favor of anchoring the topic more firmly in school lessons. "You can't shift everything onto the shoulders of the school. But health advice, nutritional advice and education about the consequences of drug use would also be necessary there. Many minors are not even aware that cannabis is still prohibited for them. Rather, the impression prevails that it is now legalized. So I can try it too."

The fight against drugs requires joint European action

Streeck also spoke out in favor of joint European efforts in the fight against drugs. He plans to meet his Czech counterpart next week to discuss this. "We have the European Drug Agency. I am on the Executive Board. The agency has received a massive budget increase - also because it was recognized that we need to develop greater clout in Europe." There is a Europe-wide monitoring system and a direct exchange between the drug commissioners.

We have to keep an eye on new substances that come onto the market, said Streeck. There are regional differences, such as an increased consumption of crystal meth in the border region with the Czech Republic. Alcohol consumption also varies from region to region. This is where more needs to be done in terms of prevention. "The drug problem is international. But we have to tackle it at a local level to a large extent. That's why I'm going on a tour of different regions to understand the specific problems that exist locally."