Alarming rise in substance addiction among students
Srinagar, Apr 18: Meant to impart skills for healthy and productive lives, schools often become the places of the first tryst with addictive substances, starting with nicotine and leading to other drugs.
Experts stress there is a dire need to devise strategies for reducing demand and exposure to contrabands.
Doctors treating addiction believe that life skills need to be imparted in schools to make the young generation mentally strong and equipped to deal with negative and dangerous situations.
They said that intensified efforts were taken by various government departments to reduce the availability of drugs.
However, at the same time, there is a need to reduce the demand for drugs as well.
“It needs to start in schools. We need to equip the young and impressionable minds with the power to stay away from drugs of every kind,” said Prof Yasir Rather, a de-addiction expert working at the De-Addcition Center of Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar.
He said that the education system needs to incorporate mental health education in schools.
“We have talked about physical education and physical strength with exercise and sports. But we also need to make their minds and personalities stronger by making them aware of various aspects of mental health,” Prof Rather said. “We have always talked about peer pressure, seen kids having their first try of cigarettes, and now vaping devices because of peer pressure. We definitely need to train our young generation how to deal with peer pressure.”
Mental health experts have also expressed the need to train teachers to provide mental health support and aid in resolving issues that students face with academics and various aspects of growing up.
“We need to have regular counselling sessions to avert situations in a student’s life that push them towards dangerous and risky behaviour, primarily drugs,” they said.
Cigarettes and tobacco products have been zeroed in as the entry points for addiction.
A 2022 GMC Srinagar study found that 23 percent of students were smoking while an additional 6 percent had tried cigarettes.
The free availability of cigarettes outside many educational institutions and the sale of tobacco products to children under 18 years of age continues despite laws.
The stakeholders said that stringent monitoring was missing.
Prof Rather said schools also need to “keep an eye” on the students’ activities.
“Some schools have started random frisking of bags, which is a good step. In addition, washrooms and secluded areas of schools need to be monitored to watch out for tell-tale signs – cigarette butts, foils, syringes, tablet blisters, and bottles,” he said.
Many studies have established a link between early adolescent nicotine exposure with intake of nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine; co-use of nicotine and alcohol; and the rewarding effects of nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids.
