WHY CYPRUS HAS NOW ''ENTERED THE WORLD OF OPIATES'' - THEY CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE - Pafos Press 26/6
The alarm bell for the rapid deterioration of the drug problem in Cyprus was sounded by the clinical director of Agia Skepi, Tina Pavlou, speaking on the show “Protoselido”, where she explained why opiate drugs are now appearing in the country, as well as the serious consequences they bring.
Referring to the recent detections of dried poppy bulbs, Ms. Pavlou explained that these are substances that belong to the opiate family.
“It belongs to the opiate family. Truth be told, in Cyprus, due to changes in the methods of trafficking within the East and Europe, in recent years there was not enough heroin in Cyprus. So we were saved to a certain extent from this chapter. And now they have been detected…”, she said.
As she explained, all opiates are particularly dangerous and extremely addictive.
“Yes, yes, yes. And addictive substances. Opiates, the entire family of opiates, are one of the two categories of substances that cause physical dependence. There are two of these substances. And what does physical dependence mean? It means permanent damage to the brain. Long-term. Once a physical dependence comes, it never goes away. And there are two of these substances. Opiates essentially and alcohol.”
Ms. Pavlou also described a particularly worrying picture of the course of addiction in Cyprus, noting that needs are increasing at a faster rate than the system’s capabilities.
“I am very sad to say. It is a terrible fact that, compared to last year, when we considered last year to be a very bad year, we are talking about double the attendance in the first half of 2026. And this is very difficult for all of us, very worrying.”
As she said, the increase in synthetic drugs has even changed the way treatment programs operate.
“Yes, we can say openly and officially that we are not responding to the extent that we should be responding to what is happening. We are running behind the problem and the volume that we are seeing is confirmation of where we need to turn as a country in terms of dealing with drugs.”
She also made special reference to the effects of synthetic substances on mental health, explaining that many users repeatedly end up at Athalassa Hospital.
“The effects of synthetic drugs lead users to Athalassa Hospital every day. There, a psychotic episode is managed, which is the most classic situation of synthetic drugs. People come out and of course, due to addiction, they go back to using the same day and back to Athalassa Hospital again.”
In fact, she revealed that last week a 35-year-old man who had been hospitalized 19 times was evaluated at Agia Skepi.
“We evaluated a young man around 35 years old, who was in his 19th hospitalization. This in itself is not only traumatic, it is brutal.”
The clinical director of Agia Skepi emphasized that immediate interventions are needed, calling for the creation of a detention and treatment area for minors, a special wing for drug users at Athalassa Hospital, but also greater emphasis on prevention from a very young age.
“We need to strengthen our children from a very young age. We need to talk about emotional care and mental health care from kindergarten. If we really want to see changes. And these need to start yesterday.”
