MOSCOW, 30 October 2024. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a monitoring study devoted to the problem of drug addiction.

Serious problem

A vast majority of Russians (85%) consider drug addiction to be a serious problem in Russia. Fewer respondents think the problem is topical compared to the previous surveys (49% now vs 72-74% in 1998, 2000 and 2010). Another 8% believe that drug addiction is not an acute problem (1998 – 4%, 2000 – 1%, 2010 – 2%); remarkably the percentage of young Russians under 24 who think so is higher (16%). Few Russians (2% at the margin of error) do not consider the problem acute enough and say it is media driven.

On the scale

The dynamics of how Russians perceive the scale of substance use show mixed trends. In 2018-2019, half of respondents (45-47%) reported an increased number of people taking drugs. The percentage was minimal in the pandemic year of 2021 (30%); however, it has been growing in recent years (2023 – 35%), reaching 38% now. The share of those who notice no changes has been stable (14-17%), as well as the share of those who point out a decreased number of drug addicts (13-18%). A high percentage of those undecided (22-40%) shows that Russians are rather distant from the topic of drug addiction and have no clear vision of the scale of the problem.

Most of Russians (67%) say they do not know anyone among their relatives and acquaintances who are drug addicts, which is a record low over the entire measurement period since 2004 (68–76%). At the same time, more Russians say they know for sure that some people they are familiar with take drugs (22%). Eleven percent of Russians say they know someone among their friends who takes drugs, a record high since 2018 (2018 - 8%, 2021– 7%). As to age groups. Those who say they are familiar with people who take drugs are often the 25-34-year-olds (16%); remarkably, this percentage is fourfold lower in the neighboring age group of those aged 18-24 (4%; 76% of them say they do not know anyone who takes drugs, which is also higher than in the old cohort (73%)).

Disease or one’s own business?

Perceptions of drug addiction by Russians have undergone considerable changes over the recent twenty years. Over this time, the focus has switched from the social perceptions to the individual perceptions. Today an overwhelming majority of Russians (40%) believe that drug addiction is a disease, and drug addicts need help. In 2003, 29% of Russians thought similarly; perceiving drug addiction as a social disease was dominant. Today this viewpoint is less common (25%).

The share of those who consider drug addicts to be dangerous persons who need to be isolated has been the same since 2004 (23-28%). Five percent of Russians think that drug addiction is people’s private affair; this viewpoint has been uncommon over the entire measurement period (3-7%).

All-Russian VCIOM-Sputnik telephone survey was conducted August 10, 2024. A total of 1,600 respondents aged 18 and older took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interview, stratified random sample based on a complete list of mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, survey of 10 August, 2024:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.7663; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0115; response rate (RR)*** = 0.0386. Calculations are based on corporate standard https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

 ** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.

*Before 2017 the surveys were conducted through face-to-face interviews (“Express” project); stratified multi-stage sample with quotas based on socio-demographic parameters, representative of the Russian population aged 18 and older according to the type of settlement, gender, age, education and federal district. Sample size: 1,600 respondents.