According to figures provided by the Public Health Institute, there are approximately 250,000 alcohol addicts in Croatia which ranks the country among top five EU countries in terms of alcohol consumption - this addiction is a huge social problem because it affects the whole family, and only one in eight addicts ends up in rehabilitation.

Traditionally, there are more alcohol addicts among men, who try to solve problems such as depression, panic or stress by drinking, For cultural reasons they hesitate to admit they have problems and seek help, says psychiatrist Kresimir Radic, a specialist at the Vrapce Psychiatric Clinic.

According to him, men die three times more often from alcohol-related diseases, and even though they make up the majority of treated patients, many of them still fail to get help.

Alcohol consumption early in life leads to health problems, so treatment programmes in health institutions include people of all age groups.

Alcoholism affects the mental health of the entire family, which suffers socially and mentally because of the drinking member. Children have worse performance in school, spouses have problems functioning in the work environment, the family is burdened with expenses due to the purchase of alcohol, traffic fines and other violations, which further impoverishes and complicates everyday life.

“Domestic violence is not rare in such families. Doctors often encounter situations when the family no longer wants to have contact with their sick member who drinks, and he is incapacitated, in poor physical health and unable to take care of himself,” says Radic. Although this usually happens at the end of an “ugly story” that has lasted for decades, the system does not have the capacity to deal with it.

Number of addicts up during the pandemic

One of the consequences of the pandemic is new addicts who calmed themselves down with alcohol during the lockdown, while some old addicts returned to drinking again.

“I have a patient in my clinic who used narcotic drugs until the lockdown, but since he couldn’t get to a dealer, he switched to alcohol,” says Radic.

He believes that the state’s lack of concern for the mental health of citizens during the pandemic and earthquake, the closing of psychiatric departments in county hospitals and clinics, and the abolition of psychiatric beds to ensure capacity for covid patients contributed to the trend of increasing the number of alcoholics.

At the end of November, the government adopted the Strategic Framework for the Development of Mental Health until 2030, as well as an action plan for the fight against addiction, which was worked on by groups of experts and patient associations. Radic hopes that they could be the basis for the development of new projects and the financing of modern, scientifically proven models of care.