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Last year a total of 209 lives were lost to drug overdoses in Finland, according to the health agency THL. The grim tally is based on reports from substance abuse organisations, THL said, adding that around one-fifth of the overdose victims were under the age of 25. In 2022 there were 192 drug overdose deaths, according to the agency. That year, it was reported that among European countries, Finland had the most drug-related deaths among people under the age of 25 in proportion to its population. The following year a record 253 lives were lost to drug overdoses in the country, according to THL figures. Substance abuse prevention groups have voiced concern about the state of drug addiction care services in the country. "Access to treatment is delayed, there are fewer treatment places and periods of treatment are shorter. At the same time, people are left in increasingly poor condition without the support they need," Mirva Suutarinen, the director of the substance abuse support association Stoppi, said in a press release.
