Children affected by Substance Abuse
"If current trends continue,
250 million children alive today will be killed by tobacco." - W.H.O.
The incidence of drug abuse among children and adolescents
is higher than the general population. This is notably because youth is a time
for experimentation and identity forming. In developed countries drug abuse
among youth is generally associated with particular youth subcultures and
lifestyles. This causes an acceptance by members of the subcultures of drugs
and their use. In Asia figures of drug abuse are hard to find but after
cannabis, Amphetamine-type Stimulants (ATS) are the most commonly uses amongst
children and youth. There have been various studies carried out in the region
regarding drug abuse. A 1996 study of eight cities in seven provinces of China
showed that over a half of heroin abusers are below 25 years of age. A school
survey conducted in 1999 among students aged 12 to 21 years, in Vientiane,
reported 4.8 per cent lifetime abuse for ATS.
In India an NGO survey revealed that 63.6 % of patients
coming in for treatment were introduced to drugs at a young age below 15 years.
According to another report 13.1% of the people involved in drug and substance
abuse in India, are below 20 years. Heroin, Opium, Alcohol, Cannabis and
Propoxyphene are the five most common drugs being abused by children in India.
A survey shows that of all alcohol, cannabis and opium users 21%, 3% and 0.1%
are below the age of eighteen. An emerging trend about child drub abusers is
the use of a cocktail of drugs through injection, and often sharing the same
needle, which increases their risk of HIV infection. Overall 0.4% and 4.6% of
total treatment seekers in various states were children.
The problem in India is there are no sensitization
programmes about drug abuse in schools or for children out of school. India
does not have a substance abuse policy. There is also a high incidence of
charging children under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,
1985. Children who at times done have access to high quality
drugs will use volatile substances easily found in corner stores such as cough
syrups, pain relief ointments, glue, paint, gasoline and cleaning fluids. There
are very few to no health centers that deal with child substance abuse
problems, especially in the rural areas. The use of tobacco is another major
concern amongst children. In India 20 million children a year and nearly 55,000
children a day are drawn into a tobacco addition. The number is shocking when
compared to the 3000 a day new child smokers in the US.
The use of certain drugs such as whitener, alcohol, tobacco,
hard and soft drugs is especially wide spread among street children, working
children and trafficked children but there is currently a lack of reliable data
on drug abuse amongst children.
In 2008, CHILDLINE
India Foundation published a study on substance
abuse amongst children in Manipur. The study found a wide spread prevalence and
acceptance of drug use from heroin to the most common Spasmo Proxyvon. The high
use of intravenous drugs is accompanied by sharing of needles and hence a high
prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
Children affected by substance abuse are considered as
children in need of care and protection under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
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