Pathological Dependence, 950 thousand € Allocated

Regione Campania allocated 950 thousand € for the 7 Local Health Units and their projects to fight pathological dependence, namely gambling, drug addiction in jails and tobacco addiction.

The Health Care Department, through the Sector for vulnerable groups of the Regional Administration for Healthcare allocated 500 thousand € for actions to fight drug addiction in jails, 250 thousand for gambling and 200 thousand for tobacco addiction.

As a matter of fact, according to a report of the Chamber of Deputies, Italy has over 30 million players, of which 2 million at risk of addiction and 800 thousand pathological gamblers, with a 1200 € expense per year each.

The allocated resources will support Services to fight pathological dependence in order to let them first detect and then accept and assist people affected by this problem.

Concerning convicts, based on a survey about drug addiction carried out in 17 Campania jails, out of 8300 convicts, 3550 are concerned differently, (as consumers, troubled consumers, and as drug addicted) with related drug problems and for 1732 a clear diagnosis has been attested.

First of all, the allocated amounts provided will implement recovery projects, mainly in the places of origin, through training and job pathways for those who after the jail experience have to re-build their autonomy in the family, social, cultural and work context.

The programme is a new sign for the corrective measures other than imprisonment.

Finally, support will be given also concerning tobacco addiction fight. In Campania, death toll for tobacco smoke is continuously increasing and the hospital cost incidence related to cigarette consumption has been considered to be around 8% of the total public health care expense (0.47 % of the GDP).

The guidelines of the actions that Regione supports at the Asl (Local Health Units) will particularly deal with information, raising awareness, and education for a correct and spread knowledge of smoking-related risks, with a greater attention paid to those groups that are more exposed (above all young people and women) and the implementation of nicotine stopping programme through the management of patients in “Stop Smoking Centres”.