- Death could come as a result of overdose, NAFDAC warns
Unless government at all levels rises to the challenge of drug abuse among youth in the country, the menace will continue to cause irreversible damage to their health and fabric of the society, as it has assumed a worrisome dimension.
Evidence shows that Nigeria is far from bringing the situation under control since the Federal Government banned cough syrup with codeine last year, following its gross abuse. The abuse of drugs has become a disturbing trend in the country. The abuse of prescription drugs is so rampant and has gone beyond codeine , as many youth look for alternative drugs to satisfy their urge.
Some of the over-the-counter drugs which have been abused, depending on the defined use, include antibiotics, antidiarrhoeals, laxatives, pain-relievers, sedatives, amphetamines and cannabis
Findings by The Point revealed that some youth have devised new methods of indulging in the dangerous act.
Many of the youth in Bariga and environs in Lagos state have resorted to mixing Alabukun with various brands of alcohol in a sachet form to ‘get high’.
Alabukun is a cheap pain killer which can be gotten from hawkers, street side vendors and drug stores.
People swallowing Alabukun with alcohol have become a common sight ,not regarding the medical implication of doing so.
They claim that the mixture of the pain killer with alcohol helps them fight depression.
One of the youth, a bus conductor in the area, who pleaded anonymity , told our correspondent that both were cheap to get, unlike codeine and tramadol that have become very expensive and scarce since their ban.
He said “With just N100, I get what I want without difficulty. To get cough syrup with codeine now costs between N2500-3000 per bottle after the ban. That amount is too much for me. Before, with N500-700 one can get a bottle of cough syrup with codeine, depending on the brand. Now that codeine is out of reach for some of us that need it, we have to look for something else to move on with our lives. I use the mixture to be on the alert. Hanging on a vehicle from 5 am -10pm every day is not an easy job.”
Another consumer and trader in the area who simply identified himself as Uche , 25, told The Point that he had to go for what was affordable and accessible to him.
“This is a new type of ‘high’ for us to get more with very little amount of money. Unlike tramadol, codeine and other forms of drugs, you are not scared of being arrested by the police for being in possession of Alabukun or any pain killer ,” he said.
Giving reasons for consuming the harmful mixture, he said: “I use it to keep myself happy when I have low sales and when I’ m broke.”
Studies have shown that most abusers of pain killers use them to kill desperation, emotional trauma, and depression, among others. To get a euphoric effect, they are usually taken with alcohol or soft drinks.
Unfortunately, these drugs, when abused can become harmful to the body, both physically and mentally. Research shows that abuse of drugs, including pain killers, damages the liver and heart.
A 20-year- old job seeker who does not want his name mentioned in print also gives reasons for his action.
“ Some of my friends introduced me to it. They take it to relieve depression. Now, when I joined them, I felt relieved and forgot my worries. My parents are in the village. I am just managing in Bariga with my elder brother who works as a security guard in one of the supermarkets in Gbagada area of the state. Life has not been easy for us. So my friends encouraged me to take the mixture and forget my joblessness. My elder brother also takes it when the demand for money by my parents becomes too heavy on him.”
A report of the first-ever survey on drug use in Nigeria released recently, gave an insight to how deep-rooted the problem is. According to the survey supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Union, about 14.3 million Nigerians, representing about 14.4 per cent of the country’s population between the ages of 15 and 64, were said to have abused drugs in the past one year.
Drug or substance abuse, according to the World Health Organisation, is “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs.” This could result in dependence syndrome, a phenomenon that develops after repeated substance use and “strong desire to take the drug, difficulty in controlling its use (and) persisting in its use despite harmful consequences”, among other issues.
Experts say substance abuse hurts victims in many ways. According to them, drug abuse could lead to diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and even stroke.
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said drug abuse could lead to arrhythmias – irregular heartbeat – cramp, coma and death.
“ Death could come as a result of overdose. It could hurt the victim’s finances, as a lot of money goes into maintaining the habit. At the place of work, it could result in diminishing productivity and eventual sacking. Socially, people who abuse drugs steal to sustain the habit, which could also alienate them from their families and close friends as the drug takes precedence over any other thing,” she said.
Adeyeye identified the love of money by peddlers, unemployment, disobedience to the laws of the land and the porous borders that allow the substances to be smuggled into the country as reasons for the high prevalence of drug abuse. According to her, the only way to prevent a breakdown of law and order by the addicts was for the government to develop and enforce a National Prescription Policy.
Reeling out the dangers of drug abuse and the need to check the rising menace , a renowned pharmacist and President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, bemoaned the habit and warned that those abusing drugs were putting their lives at risk.
Ohuabunwa said: “Every drug can kill if used wrongly. No matter the type of drug, evidence has shown that drug abuse comes with serious consequences when it comes to physical health. Notwithstanding the drug of choice, abuse can lead to lung and cardiovascular diseases, stroke and various kinds of cancer.”
He however, blamed the problem of drug abuse in Nigeria on unrestricted access to drugs, revealing that people now abused drugs at will. According to him, instead of using drugs for therapeutic effects, they are now being used for their side effects.
Suggesting ways of checking the menace, he said government must start with control by getting the pharmacists involved to play their role.
” Because drugs are not under the control of pharmacists, everybody now has access to medicines, including tramadol. Government must therefore, enforce the pharmacy law and restore the control of drugs to pharmacists,” he said.
On his part, founder and Executive Director, Global Initiative on Substance Abuse, Dr. Martin Agwogie, called for more efforts in the prevention of drug abuse in the country by inculcating it into schools’ curriculum.
He said this had become necessary because of the frightening report based on the just released National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health in Nigeria, in which one out of seven Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 engaged in at least one substance abuse.
Other experts recommended the creation of treatment and rehabilitation centres.
