Bangladeshi youth drug addiction

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

[Bengal_Tiger]

A problem in South Asia.


6.4 million drug addicts in Pakistan

WORLD DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE...Serious measures needed to safeguard future of the youth


Muhammad Qasim
Tuesday, June 25, 2013


Almost 5.8 per cent of the adult population, approximately 6.4 million persons or one in every 27 persons in Pakistan is using drugs while nearly 25 per cent of the youth population is involved in some form of drug abuse in Pakistan.

Drug abuse is most prevalent in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where 11 per cent of the population uses drugs, followed by Sindh where 6.5 per cent of the population is drug addict. In Balochistan, almost five per cent population uses drugs while in Punjab, 4.8 per cent of the population is drug addict.

Cannabis (Charas) is the most commonly used drug in Pakistan, with 3.6% of the adult population its addict. Opiates namely opium and heroin are used by almost one per cent of overall drug users. There are 420,000 people who inject drugs in Pakistan, which represents 0.4% population. Non-medical use of tranquilisers and sedatives is higher among women.

Young people are more susceptible to drug use. They often talk about the “highs” but may not be aware of the many “lows”. The widespread availability of drugs in Pakistan is making it easy for them to be addicts. Drug addiction among the youth is killing them morally and socially as well psychologically and even physically.

Head of Community Medicine at CMH Lahore Medical College Professor Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry expressed these views while talking to ‘The News’ in connection with the United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking that falls on June 26 each year to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to the society.

Dr. Ashraf said that the reason why the number of drug addicted people especially youth is increasing alarmingly in Pakistan is that the drug cartels in the country are fully backed and supported by the powerful and the wealthy who have got ample influence. Moreover, apparently, police and drug mafia are colluding. Moreover, easy availability of narcotics and psychological effects of violence are also playing part. Children who have suffered violence in their life or who have undergone a traumatic experience turn to drugs to forget about the loss, he explained.

He said that majority of drug addicts usually start with soft drugs like ‘chhaliya’, ‘gutka’ and ‘pan’ and then move to the hard drugs like heroin, opium and cocaine etc. The purchase of drugs or alcohol by young people is usually through dealers or ‘agents’, who are just a phone call away.

Their numbers are distributed widely at hostels. In Pakistan, he said, users can get up to 20 Charas cigarettes only for Rs1400.

To a query, he said that the drug abuse is often linked to factors such as risk taking behaviours that may involve experimenting with narcotics, smoking and alcohol, social isolation, stress, anxiety, depression, peer pressure (bad company), modern life style, hippy culture, unemployment, excessive pocket money by parents and lack of supervision and attention, the desire for social acceptance, boredom, curiosity, just to feel good, weak religious belief and lot of free time, easy access to drugs at low prices, existence and presence of drug dens, to heighten sexual pleasure, to overcome frustration and or tragedies, use as pain medication and fashion.

Talking of health threats, Dr. Ashraf said that physical health and sexual health of addicts weaken so rapidly that a young man of thirties looks an old man of over-sixties. “Drug use in general leads to a number of health problems, such as malnutrition, apathy, menstrual irregularities and irregular heart rhythm and premature death.”

He added that some of the physical effects of drugs might sound nice but they do not last long. Many people get depressed and start feeling sick. There is economic breakdown of family, loss of self-confidence and will to work, loss of job, indulgence in crimes such as theft, and suicidal thoughts, he said.

Drug addicts are also more prone to accidents and are at higher risk of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B & C, tuberculosis, suicide, overdose deaths and cardiovascular diseases. Married drug addicts have high probability of having mentally retarded and physically handicapped children. Young people who use cannabis are doubling their risk of psychotic symptoms like schizophrenia, hallucinations, hearing voices etc, said Dr. Ashraf.

Talking of treatment of an addict, he said that an addict is a sick person and needs humanistic treatment. Treatment of drug addicts is done in three stages — assessment, detoxification and rehabilitation. The most difficult part of the treatment is rehabilitation in which there is need to motivate a patient to take up a healthy activity preferably away from old places and old company, he said.

He added that the law enforcement agencies must treat drug users as victims rather than criminals. “Drug dependence is a disease, not a crime. The real criminals are the drug traffickers.”

Dr. Ashraf opines that to eliminate drug addiction from society, awareness campaigns through mass media, essay contests, lectures and declamation contest in schools, colleges and universities should be run in order to create awareness about the ill effects of drug addiction.

“Provincial education departments should develop a curriculum against drugs for inclusion in textbooks at school, college and university levels.”

He said that research have proved that people who start smoking cigarettes and or drink alcohol at young age are much more likely to experiment with illegal drugs than people who do not smoke or drink. “Efforts should be made to control the tobacco smoking in the country because it is the gateway to drug abuse.”

He added that awareness and prevention must start at home, with parents. Parents should be vigilant and keep an eye on the company and activities of their children and should spend more time with their children. They should keep their children busy and motivate them to say their prayers regularly. Religious scholars should be encouraged to take up this issue in their Friday Sermons. “A drug-free life-style and a healthy society is very much a part of the Islamic way of life,” he said.

He said that the government should dedicate help lines for youth and parents with information and diversion to rehabilitation centres or hospitals. “Government should solve unemployment problem in the country because economic worries provide a fertile ground for drug addiction,” said Dr. Ashraf while responding to a query. He added that the smuggling routes and its entry into cities have to be blocked. The police have to be taken to task on this corruption. Some new accountability laws have to be made and implemented. The supply line has to be broken. People who are playing with lives of our youth do not deserve any concession. Unless serious measures are taken now, the very future of a large chunk of today’s youth will be compromised, concluded Dr. Ashraf.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-185865-6.4-million-drug-addicts-in-Pakistan

[Bengal_Tiger]

In addition to drug addicition, alcohol addiction is a problem in Pakistan.

Pakistan battles growing alcohol addiction


Alcoholism is a growing problem in Pakistan despite it being illegal for the Muslim majority to drink. The BBC's Charles Haviland finds lives ruined and clinics and therapy groups trying to overcome a taboo subject.

Late one night, the beat of dance music drifts down from an upper storey of an apartment block on the edge of a Pakistani city.

Inside the flat, the music is pulsating around a dance floor. There is a bar where a range of liquor is being served and cocktails shaken. Under flashing stroboscopic lights, dozens of people laugh, dance and enjoy the drink.

This is one of the parties that are now commonplace in the cities but are highly discreet.

The liquor is bought illicitly from bootleggers - or from the regular alcohol shops that are supposed to sell only to minorities holding permits but also sell illegally to large numbers of Muslims.

Pakistan even has its own breweries which officially produce only for non-Muslims - or for export.

'Increasing trend'

Mr Ahmed was formerly an alcoholic and now runs a rehabilitation organisation

The subculture of liquor enjoyment belies Pakistan's status as officially "dry". That is, the 96% of Pakistanis who, according to official figures are Muslim, are not supposed to drink.

The penalty if they do so is 80 lashes but it is not strictly enforced.

Although there are many harmless social gatherings, there is also a growing problem of addiction to the bottle.

Officials have told the BBC - while not wanting to be quoted - that alcohol-related diseases have risen by at least 10% in the past five years.

Tahir Ahmed, a former alcoholic who now runs a rehabilitation organisation, Therapy Works, detects "a visibly increasing trend". Six years ago, when he started this work, most drinkers were in at least their 20s; now, some are as young as 14, he says.

Sometimes alcohol is taken in conjunction with narcotics.

He says alcohol has a much firmer presence in the home - especially for the affluent - and at social occasions like weddings.
And he says that if a Pakistani drinks, it is usually in large quantities because it is, he believes, a response to the massive social pressures here, including the threat of political violence and high unemployment.

"Unfortunately drinking in Pakistan is not recreational," he said. "It's much more escapist and much more relief-seeking. That means drink till the bottle is emptied."

Now 65, this is the way he himself used to be. He watched two of his friends die of cirrhosis of the liver and nearly died himself.

He decided to stop drinking but went into clinical depression for a year. Only then did he receive therapy, later setting up his organisation, which is registered with Britain's Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body.

'Taboo for women'

Drinking among the affluent is especially noticeable. Some senior politicians are rumoured to drink, and alcohol is served at some high-society events, though never on camera.

But it affects everybody. Last month, at least 12 people in Karachi died after drinking toxic home-made liquor.

Some Pakistani alcoholics are women. For them, the stigma is all the greater.

In Pakistan's second city, Lahore, Sara - whose name we have changed - recounts her story.

Five years ago, aged 33 and with two teenage children, she got divorced. Then alcoholism just sucked her in. She would go binge-drinking for days at a time and suffer blackouts.

"I would wake up and I would not remember the last two or three days of my life because I was so intoxicated. And that really frightened me."


Mr Umer said a strict and austere regimen helped him overcome drinking

As word got around and she became an embarrassment to her children, Sara wanted to go to a rehabilitation clinic. But being a woman made this very difficult in Pakistan.

"Some men will turn around and say, 'Okay, I have a problem.' But it's a taboo for women. A woman will never stand up and say I have a problem and I need help. That's not acceptable."

Nine months ago, she finally sought assistance and was able to get medicine and therapy-based help at home, from Therapy Works. Now she is recovering.

In an unregulated medical market, there are other clinics whose approach to treatment is much more strict. The BBC visited one in Karachi, called Willing Ways, where a group of current and former residents were in a session with the doctor who founded the establishment.

Clients are admitted with their families' consent, but they do not always realise they will be confined for three months. While living there, they are deprived of all addictive substances including tobacco, and of all external communications.

One former patient contacted the BBC and said he felt the set-up was excessively draconian.

But a satisfied former client, businessman Yousuf Umer, says the austere regimen worked for him.

"It has changed my life and I am a very successful man now."

'I'm listening'


While clinics and therapy-based groups tackle alcoholism, the media is now doing so too.

On Karachi's Radio 1 91 FM a psychiatrist-broadcaster, Dr Faisal Mamsa, takes calls every Thursday and Friday night on all sorts of social taboos - including this one.

"Go ahead. I'm listening," he tells callers in soft tones. Sporting a mop of unruly hair and a beard, he wears shorts in the studio.

There follows a conversation in a mix of English and Urdu.

Calls or texts from affected family members are encouraged. A woman says her husband has been drinking for 13 years but she cannot persuade him to seek help. The doctor suggests they contact Alcoholics Anonymous.

The next caller is an addict who admits he is violent.

Dr Mamsa says the anonymity of radio makes it ideal for this subject.

"I'm not concerned about the name," he said.

"If they're talking about a problem, it's not just them who's benefiting out of it but whosoever is listening to the radio is listening about it. What matters is that the problem is being discussed."

There is no chance of Pakistan's legally "dry" status changing in the near future. Yet there is an alcoholism problem, which officials and doctors say is growing.

At least more alcoholics are now coming forward to talk about it - and some are finding a way out of their misery

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24044337

[Manzareh]

What's this some sort of competition on who can bring the most negative news out of Bangladesh and Pakistan. very mature indeed.

[Bengal_Tiger]

What's this some sort of competition on who can bring the most negative news out of Bangladesh and Pakistan. very mature indeed.

Manzareh.

1. This troll (who is on my ignore, not read the article and not planning to) has purely started this thread and another Bangladesh-bashing thread to target me and to vilify Bangladesh.

2 anti-Bangladeshi threads in one day.

3. I mainly try to post positive news about Muslim countries and also focus on the international situation. I hardly ever start threads about Pakistan. Only on defence.pk today there was a story about a Pakistani raping 30 sheep in Saudi Arabia. Now have I posted that here? Am I even posting the link to this story here?

No.

Because I have better things to do than start anti-Pakistani threads and it would also deteriorate the quality of the forum and people would lose respect.

4. Shamlawar Khorasani is for some reason targeting me and my country.

It might be purely a perverse psychological mind game to see how I react. It might be to embarass me to leave the forum. I don't know.

However I will continue to start threads posting positive news about the much-vilified Muslim world and other things.

Thanks for reading.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Manzareh.

1. This troll (who is on my ignore, not read the article and not planning to) has purely started this thread and another Bangladesh-bashing thread to target me and to vilify Bangladesh.

2 anti-Bangladeshi threads in one day.

3. I mainly try to post positive news about Muslim countries and also focus on the international situation. I hardly ever start threads about Pakistan. Only on defence.pk today there was a story about a Pakistani raping 30 sheep in Saudi Arabia. Now have I posted that here? Am I even posting the link to this story here?

No.

Because I have better things to do than start anti-Pakistani threads and it would also deteriorate the quality of the forum and people would lose respect.

4. Shamlawar Khorasani is for some reason targeting me and my country.

It might be purely a perverse psychological mind game to see how I react. It might be to embarass me to leave the forum. I don't know.

However I will continue to start threads posting positive news about the much-vilified Muslim world and other things.

Thanks for reading.

I have posted news items without any comentary. Yet you assume that the reason why i did this is to bash you and Bangladesh.

Based on your own logic you are engaging in bashing others on daily bases by posting news items.

You seem to suffer from an extreme form of inferiority complex.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Pussycat

[Bengal_Tiger]

Today, 12:54 PM Remove user from ignore list
Shamlawar Khurasani This message is hidden because Shamlawar Khurasani is on your ignore list.

vBulletin Message Cancel Changes

Again Shamlawar Khurasani has posted on this anti-Bangladeshi "let's bash Bangladesh" thread.

I don't know what Mr Khurasani has said because he is on block, nor do I wish to.

However I am seeing a progression of his personal campaign against me.

1. First personal off-topic remarks about me - rather than the topic - on various threads.

2. After blocking him due to this, he then started a thread with false claims of the president of Russia banning the holy Quran, he tagged me in the first post and wanted to "know" my views i.e. was trying to embarrass me.

(Anyway what actually happened is a local court in Russia objected to a translation of the holy Quran, President Putin had no involvement and millions of Muslims in Russia can read the Quran freely in the original Arabic and translations in Russia).

However I did not fall for his bait and ignored the troll.


3. However despite being refuted by others on the false Russia claim, he is increasing his campaign against me and now scouring the internet looking for bad news about Bangladesh (a country I doubt he has ever started a thread about before in his 4 years of being on this forum). Upon finding the relevant bad news about Bangladesh, Mr Khurasani then copies it, then goes to Pashtun forums opens a thread and then posts it.

So:

a: Hunt for anti-Bangladeshi news on the internet.
b: Copy it
c: Open a thread in Pashtun forums.
d: Paste it
e: Wait for a reaction and hope for subsequent humiliation for Bengal Tiger and Bangladesh.

There is nothing I can do about his personal crusade against me and his new anti-Bangladesh crusade (a country which won its independence from the ISI, Pakistan army who created the Taliban he supports).

[Kushan Prince]

This thread is a horrible way of lashing at Bengali's and blaming them for downright stupid stuff. What's ironic about this thread is that its saying bengalis are drug addicts, when we Pashtuns are stereotyped around the world as weed smoking gun tooting maniacs because of our involvement in opium production. All i am saying is, we should first look at ourselves before we criticize people of other races.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Today, 12:54 PM Remove user from ignore list
Shamlawar Khurasani This message is hidden because Shamlawar Khurasani is on your ignore list.

vBulletin Message Cancel Changes

Again Shamlawar Khurasani has posted on this anti-Bangladeshi "let's bash Bangladesh" thread.

I don't know what Mr Khurasani has said because he is on block, nor do I wish to.

However I am seeing a progression of his personal campaign against me.

1. First personal off-topic remarks about me - rather than the topic - on various threads.

2. After blocking him due to this, he then started a thread with false claims of the president of Russia banning the holy Quran, he tagged me in the first post and wanted to "know" my views i.e. was trying to embarrass me.

(Anyway what actually happened is a local court in Russia objected to a translation of the holy Quran, President Putin had no involvement and millions of Muslims in Russia can read the Quran freely in the original Arabic and translations in Russia).

However I did not fall for his bait and ignored the troll.


3. However despite being refuted by others on the false Russia claim, he is increasing his campaign against me and now scouring the internet looking for bad news about Bangladesh (a country I doubt he has ever started a thread about before in his 4 years of being on this forum). Upon finding the relevant bad news about Bangladesh, Mr Khurasani then copies it, then goes to Pashtun forums opens a thread and then posts it.

So:

a: Hunt for anti-Bangladeshi news on the internet.
b: Copy it
c: Open a thread in Pashtun forums.
d: Paste it
e: Wait for a reaction and hope for subsequent humiliation for Bengal Tiger and Bangladesh.

There is nothing I can do about his personal crusade against me and his new anti-Bangladesh crusade (a country which won its independence from the ISI, Pakistan army who created the Taliban he supports).

[Bengal_Tiger]

Edited*

Things said out of annoyance.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

So much drama because of one single news item about Bangladesh.

i wonder what Bengali pussycat would do if I post another thread about Bangladesh? Jump into the Buriganga river?

[Bengal_Tiger]

Edited*

Things said out of annoyance.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

I hear Bangladesh has very nice food.

[asif86]

In addition to drug addicition, alcohol addiction is a problem in Pakistan.

Pakistan battles growing alcohol addiction


Alcoholism is a growing problem in Pakistan despite it being illegal for the Muslim majority to drink. The BBC's Charles Haviland finds lives ruined and clinics and therapy groups trying to overcome a taboo subject.

Late one night, the beat of dance music drifts down from an upper storey of an apartment block on the edge of a Pakistani city.

Inside the flat, the music is pulsating around a dance floor. There is a bar where a range of liquor is being served and cocktails shaken. Under flashing stroboscopic lights, dozens of people laugh, dance and enjoy the drink.

This is one of the parties that are now commonplace in the cities but are highly discreet.

The liquor is bought illicitly from bootleggers - or from the regular alcohol shops that are supposed to sell only to minorities holding permits but also sell illegally to large numbers of Muslims.

Pakistan even has its own breweries which officially produce only for non-Muslims - or for export.

'Increasing trend'

Mr Ahmed was formerly an alcoholic and now runs a rehabilitation organisation

The subculture of liquor enjoyment belies Pakistan's status as officially "dry". That is, the 96% of Pakistanis who, according to official figures are Muslim, are not supposed to drink.

The penalty if they do so is 80 lashes but it is not strictly enforced.

Although there are many harmless social gatherings, there is also a growing problem of addiction to the bottle.

Officials have told the BBC - while not wanting to be quoted - that alcohol-related diseases have risen by at least 10% in the past five years.

Tahir Ahmed, a former alcoholic who now runs a rehabilitation organisation, Therapy Works, detects "a visibly increasing trend". Six years ago, when he started this work, most drinkers were in at least their 20s; now, some are as young as 14, he says.

Sometimes alcohol is taken in conjunction with narcotics.

He says alcohol has a much firmer presence in the home - especially for the affluent - and at social occasions like weddings.
And he says that if a Pakistani drinks, it is usually in large quantities because it is, he believes, a response to the massive social pressures here, including the threat of political violence and high unemployment.

"Unfortunately drinking in Pakistan is not recreational," he said. "It's much more escapist and much more relief-seeking. That means drink till the bottle is emptied."

Now 65, this is the way he himself used to be. He watched two of his friends die of cirrhosis of the liver and nearly died himself.

He decided to stop drinking but went into clinical depression for a year. Only then did he receive therapy, later setting up his organisation, which is registered with Britain's Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body.

'Taboo for women'

Drinking among the affluent is especially noticeable. Some senior politicians are rumoured to drink, and alcohol is served at some high-society events, though never on camera.

But it affects everybody. Last month, at least 12 people in Karachi died after drinking toxic home-made liquor.

Some Pakistani alcoholics are women. For them, the stigma is all the greater.

In Pakistan's second city, Lahore, Sara - whose name we have changed - recounts her story.

Five years ago, aged 33 and with two teenage children, she got divorced. Then alcoholism just sucked her in. She would go binge-drinking for days at a time and suffer blackouts.

"I would wake up and I would not remember the last two or three days of my life because I was so intoxicated. And that really frightened me."


Mr Umer said a strict and austere regimen helped him overcome drinking

As word got around and she became an embarrassment to her children, Sara wanted to go to a rehabilitation clinic. But being a woman made this very difficult in Pakistan.

"Some men will turn around and say, 'Okay, I have a problem.' But it's a taboo for women. A woman will never stand up and say I have a problem and I need help. That's not acceptable."

Nine months ago, she finally sought assistance and was able to get medicine and therapy-based help at home, from Therapy Works. Now she is recovering.

In an unregulated medical market, there are other clinics whose approach to treatment is much more strict. The BBC visited one in Karachi, called Willing Ways, where a group of current and former residents were in a session with the doctor who founded the establishment.

Clients are admitted with their families' consent, but they do not always realise they will be confined for three months. While living there, they are deprived of all addictive substances including tobacco, and of all external communications.

One former patient contacted the BBC and said he felt the set-up was excessively draconian.

But a satisfied former client, businessman Yousuf Umer, says the austere regimen worked for him.

"It has changed my life and I am a very successful man now."

'I'm listening'


While clinics and therapy-based groups tackle alcoholism, the media is now doing so too.

On Karachi's Radio 1 91 FM a psychiatrist-broadcaster, Dr Faisal Mamsa, takes calls every Thursday and Friday night on all sorts of social taboos - including this one.

"Go ahead. I'm listening," he tells callers in soft tones. Sporting a mop of unruly hair and a beard, he wears shorts in the studio.

There follows a conversation in a mix of English and Urdu.

Calls or texts from affected family members are encouraged. A woman says her husband has been drinking for 13 years but she cannot persuade him to seek help. The doctor suggests they contact Alcoholics Anonymous.

The next caller is an addict who admits he is violent.

Dr Mamsa says the anonymity of radio makes it ideal for this subject.

"I'm not concerned about the name," he said.

"If they're talking about a problem, it's not just them who's benefiting out of it but whosoever is listening to the radio is listening about it. What matters is that the problem is being discussed."

There is no chance of Pakistan's legally "dry" status changing in the near future. Yet there is an alcoholism problem, which officials and doctors say is growing.

At least more alcoholics are now coming forward to talk about it - and some are finding a way out of their misery

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24044337

It would be interesting to know which sections of pakistani population is suffering from this growing alcohol problem.For muslims its banned but if your non-muslim in pakistan then you can get liquor permits from the state.