The “happiest country in the world” is the European country with the highest proportion of people under the age of 25 dying from drug use, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization released in 2020.
In 2022, nearly 30% of Finnish drug addicts who died were aged 25 or younger, and drug users in the country die on average ten years earlier than in other EU countries. The main causes of most overdoses in Finland are related to the presence of several substances in the body, namely buprenorphine, benzodiazepines and alcohol.
Compared to neighboring Sweden, 70% of people with substance abuse disorders receive treatment. In Finland, the situation is different: the number of drug addicts in treatment drops to 20%.
One proposed solution to combat this problem is the establishment of assisted injection rooms, commonly known as “hit rooms”. These are places where people can use drugs in a hygienic environment and under the supervision of a professional.
Due to the lack of medically assisted injection rooms, public toilets in Finland are considered dirty and have become the preferred place for drug use, which puts users at risk and poses a threat to public health.
In the World’s Happiest Countries 2023 report released last week, Finland has been ranked number one for the fifth year in a row, with a score “significantly above the rest of the world”. The top five in the report published by the UN are Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands. Portugal in the list of more than 130 countries is in 56th position.