Treatment for alcoholics accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total cost of treating all addicts, according to the General Health Insurance Company (VZP), the Czech Republic’s largest health insurance company. VZP reported spending over CZK 1 billion on treating alcohol addicts in 2025, including 1,170 children.
VZP, which covers about 60% of the population, paid more than CZK 1.65 billion for addiction treatment, compared with roughly half of that sum ten years ago.
Last year, nearly 50,000 VZP clients sought medical help due to substance abuse issues. Of these, more than 27,000 cases were alcohol-related, with men outnumbering women two to one. Additionally, 1,170 children under the age of 18 sought medical care for alcohol-related disorders. Ten years earlier, that number was 632.
“Early detection of various addictions and risky behaviours is part of preventive checkups for children as young as seven, as defined in the decree on preventive checkups,” said VZP Deputy Director Miroslav Jankuj. “When taking a medical history, a doctor should always ask about substances that cause addiction, certainly about alcohol, and the patient, or parent if applicable, should answer truthfully in their own best interest.”
The number of children with disorders caused by multiple drug addictions has also increased, from 461 in 2016 to 616 last year. According to experts, several factors are behind this increase, including better record-keeping by doctors.
Among the majority of young people, the use of alcohol and other drugs is declining slightly, but there is a smaller group that uses them in risky ways. “There is a higher level of risk among this smaller group, which is no longer merely experimenting with substances but is beginning to use them regularly at this age,” explained Michal Miovsky, head of the Department of Addictology at the General Teaching Hospital in Prague.
According to Miovsky, this group is also influenced by the market for various addictive substances, particularly the widespread availability of synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids as well as kratom.
“Changing patterns of nicotine use and the continued high popularity of alcohol reinforce the reasons why young people combine substances. Not everyone is aware of certain high-risk combinations,” he explained.
The older generation, Miovsky said, underestimates the risks of combining medications, such as benzodiazepines used for anxiety and insomnia, with alcohol.
“Among the younger generation, we see relatively little caution regarding, for example, the combination of kratom and alcohol,” he added.
Number of VZP clients treated for substance use disorders in 2025:
| Total | Costs* | |
| Total | 49,646 | 1,652.05 |
| Alcohol | 26,966 | 1,007 |
| Opioids | 2,559 | 41.05 |
| Cannabinoids | 1,938 | 27.8 |
| Sedatives or hypnotics | 3,072 | 50.5 |
| Cocaine | 353 | 0.46 |
| Other stimulants (methamphetamine) | 3,367 | 100.4 |
| Hallucinogens | 257 | 2.2 |
| Tobacco | 8,666 | 14.2 |
| Volatile substances | 186 | 2.2 |
| Combination of drugs | 8,217 | 401 |
* Costs are in millions of crowns
Source: VZP
