Hygiena 2025, 70(4):132-136 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1898

Kratom use in the Czech Republic

Miroslava Skývová¹, Alena Fialová², Marek Malý²

¹ Státní zdravotní ústav, Centrum podpory veřejného zdraví, Praha, Česká republika

² Státní zdravotní ústav, Oddělení biostatistiky, Praha, Česká republika

Objective: The aim of this study was to map kratom use in the population aged 15 years and older in the Czech Republic. Kratom is a psychoactive substance whose use has been rising markedly in recent years.

Methods: Data collection was carried out within the framework of the National Survey on Tobacco and Alcohol Use in the Czech Republic (NAUTA) in 2023 and 2024. A standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of kratom use in the general population. The analysis is based on the overall prevalence of current kratom use, i.e., the proportion of daily and occasional users, and the daily prevalence, i.e., the proportion of persons currently using kratom every day.

Results: A total of 1,812 respondents participated in the survey in 2023 and 1,809 respondents in 2024. The overall prevalence of current kratom use, including both regular and occasional users, was 0.8% in 2023 and 2.0% in 2024. The proportion of regular daily users was low but increased from 0.1% to 0.3% over the two years. The highest prevalence of current use was recorded among individuals aged 15-24 years, where it rose from 3.2% to 4.5%. Men reported a higher overall prevalence than women. Kratom had been used at least once in life by 11.0% of men compared with 7.6% of women. In the 15-24 age group, approximately one quarter of the respondents had used kratom at least once. The most common source of kratom was online purchase (nearly 40% of users). A substantial increase was observed in the proportion of users obtaining kratom from vending machines, rising from 11.4% in 2023 to 23.6% in 2024.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates a clear increase in current kratom use in the Czech Republic between 2023 and 2024, particularly among young people aged 15-24 years. It also confirmed the high availability of this substance in the absence of legislative regulation, including among minors. The findings highlight the need to monitor developments in user trends even after the introduction of new measures, specifically after the regulation of kratom as a psychomodulatory substance.

Keywords: kratom use, addictions - prevalence

Received: October 2025; Accepted: December 4, 2025; Published: December 31, 2025  Show citation