Consequences of drug and substance abuse in Bangladesh
[Dr. Iftekhar Alam Siddiqui Shovon]
Bangladesh with a population of 166 million is a potential emerging economies among other developing countries. We enjoyed development and advancements in many sectors but with that also comes the adversity of drug abuse that is increasing in an alarming rate. In this country, this agent of human devastation has spread its tentacles to every possible corner. The inclination of drug consumption is higher in youth and teenagers, their age spinning between 15 and 30 years. This population of drug abusers comes from all walks of life. The main victims are the students who fall in the vicious traps of drug abuse ,which leads to their lower standards of education and attendance at schools, colleges and society. The young people in our country in the name of experiment dabble with drugs. The most popular ones are marijuana, yaba, alcohol, opioids and various kinds of sleeping pills, to mention from many others. Now, people might ask why people take drugs. And the reasons of it are many, among them the most commons ones are curiosity, excitement through its use, peer pressure, despair and frustration for continuous failure in works or economic solvency, poverty, dejection in love, mental stress, family problems, the western cultural influence of drugs are many to mention from a long list.
I am working with drug addicts and mental patience alike for sometime now. And what I have noticed is the social stigma to seek help, this includes both parents or partners of the patient and also the patient itself. This is a barrier I would like to overcome with the help of the people of this great country by building awareness for drug abuse. To make the dialogue ‘say no to drugs’ effective and successful, we doctors are ready to work with all educational institutions to build awareness of it. Building awareness of drug abuse is step one and for that I would like to urge the educators to help us along with parents. As one seeks help and treatment from a doctor for various diseases, like that addiction is a disease as well.
Unlike many diseases, this disease we call addiction is also treatable. Support from family and friends, professional help from doctors, and will power of the patient during inpatient or outpatient drug addiction treatment will help to end dependence on drugs. Let us all join hands and not shy away to seek help. Parents, partners and peers if you see your loved ones being involved with drugs, no matter what stage, please ask them to seek help or seek help in behalf of them. There are a number of clinics and doctors working in the field to help our future generation to be drug free. Let us build a better future and a drug free nation.
Addiction Specialist, Counselor & Motivational speaker
Chief adviser MediTrain