Saudi Arabia’s hospitals have received 320 girls addicted to drugs this year and more than 30 per cent of them are under 15 years, newspapers said on Tuesday.
The figure so far this year is nearly 20 per cent above those recorded in the Gulf Kingdom’s hospitals in 2010, the report said.
Citing hospital data, the report showed 290 girls have been treated this year while 30 have been kept at medical centres for treatment.
“According to the statistics more than 30 per cent of the female addicts this year are under 15 years while nearly 20 per cent are above 20 years,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Sharq said.
It quoted a government official as saying the health ministry is planning to launch a new initiative in 2012 to control drug addiction among young Saudis.
It gave no details of the initiative but said the ministry would request a 30 per cent increase in the budget of drug addiction centres.
“The ministry has also asked three government departments to join its efforts in curb the spread of drugs among students in the Kingdom.”