Mortality of registered drug users in Central Asia

Taking into account the limited quality and reliability of the data - first of all, the likely under-reporting of deaths in the narcological registers - the crude mortality rate among registered drug users is quite high when compared to EU countries. The SMR in total is comparably lower as a result of the high background mortality in the general population. This excess mortality is preventable and should be targeted by the national drug policies. Specifically, the programmes should target registered and unregistered female drug users.