TOMSK, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia loses up to two trillion rubles ($70 billion) annually due to drug-related crimes, Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov said on Tuesday.
"We lose up to two trillion rubles because of drugs. Many countries keep such statistics," he said, noting that losses cannot be measured by money alone.
Losses in productivity, accidents, job absenteeism, deaths, and drug-related crimes have surged in Russia over the last decade.
"Drugs also create massive fatalities," Ivanov said. "For instance, a person addicted to heroin lives five-seven years. Besides, drugs are also considered organized crime," he continued.
In the United States, employers lose some $100 bln annually because of drug and alcohol abuse, according to government and industry experts.
An estimated 90% of heroin consumed in Russia is trafficked from Afghanistan via the ex-Soviet states of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Illegal drug production has reportedly increased more than 40 times in Afghanistan since U.S. forces toppled the radical Islamic Taliban movement in 2001.
Earlier Russian and U.S. officials agreed to carry out joint work in Afghanistan to prevent drug trafficking.
