How Many People Have Died in Armenia Due to Drug Abuse

Official statistics on how many people have died in Armenia in recent years due to drug abuse have raised numerous questions and doubts following a three-month inquiry with relevant state agencies.

In response to a written inquiry from NEWS.am, the Statistical Committee of Armenia reported: "From January to April 2018-2023, according to death registrations received from the Unified Electronic Management System of the Civil Status Acts Registry of the Ministry of Justice, there were 4 recorded deaths due to poisoning from drugs, psychotropic substances, and other unclassified narcotic medications in the structure of causes of mortality in Armenia."

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health of the Ministry of Health, which tracks mortality and morbidity statistics in Armenia, informed NEWS.am that there were no recorded deaths related to mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances in 2021. "At the same time, we inform you that the data for 2022 and 2023 is currently not available," stated Alexander Bazarchyan, the director of the National Institute of Health, in response to the inquiry.

Although the Statistical Committee utilized the Unified Electronic Management System of the Civil Status Acts Registry to collect data, the Civil Status Acts Registry Agency of the Ministry of Justice responded to NEWS.am’s separate inquiry that they do not maintain statistics on deaths recorded due to drug or psychotropic overdose: "The e-civil electronic management unified system does not have the ability to classify existing death act records according to causes of death, so providing information in response to your inquiry is not possible," was noted in the response sent to us.

The contradictory responses from state agencies and the officially recorded incredible figures give grounds to assume that the statistics regarding deaths related to drug abuse in Armenia is not properly conducted.

Official annual mortality reports published on the Statistical Committee's website show that the leading causes of death in Armenia include diseases of the circulatory system. In 2022, there were 10,700 recorded deaths, of which 5,944, or 55.6%, were attributed to diseases of the circulatory system, while in 2021, there were 5,822 recorded deaths from cardiovascular diseases. Respiratory diseases also account for a significant number of deaths. In 2022, there were 1,026 deaths from respiratory diseases compared to 877 in the previous year.

It should be noted that these statistics are drawn from civil registrations of death based on medical death certificates. Sources within NEWS.am assert that deaths related to drug use are "hidden" within the statistics for diseases of the circulatory system and respiratory organs. The fact is that when drug use leads to heart failure or respiratory arrest, doctors or forensic experts may only indicate the presence of circulatory or respiratory system diseases as the primary cause of death, without mentioning what contributed to the development of those diseases. For instance, a person may die of a heart attack, but it is possible that they had an overdose of methamphetamine or cocaine, which led to the attack.

There have also been significant cases of suicides and murders under the influence of drugs in Armenia, for which no statistics are maintained either. Further details can be found on the website.