In 2006, the European Union concluded that there are between one to two million illicit drug users in Europe, of which an average of 1 million are parenteral drug users who used opioids as their principal drug [2]. According to a 2010 report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, in 2008 there were an estimated 1.35 million dependent opioid users in the EU and Norway, equivalent to about 3.9-4.4 cases per 1000 people aged 15-64. with the highest prevalence of problem opioid use recorded in Ireland, Malta, Italy, and Luxembourg [22]. By comparison, Russia had a much larger population of opioid users (approximately 1.7 million) in 2009, equal to 16 cases of problem opioid use per 1000 people [22]. In addition, the Russian Federal Drug Control Service has concluded that nearly 10,000 deaths can be associated with heroin overdose each year in Russia [22]. Ukraine’s situation is similar to Russia’s with 10 to 13 cases per 1000 of problem opioid use [22].
