70,000 drug-addicts, 52,000 using heroin: Survey
SHAKEELA ANDRABI
Srinagar: The consumption rate of various narcotics substances in the country has seen a 70 per cent increase in the past eight years and the number continues to rise. According to data released by NCB, the number of people getting addicted to drugs has increased drastically. Currently, there are around 10 crore people in country who are addicted to various narcotic substances. Drug abuse among youngsters has increased manifold with medicos blaming easy access to illicit drugs in Kashmir. As per official figures, the Drug De-addiction Center at SMHS Hospital receives at least 150 drug addiction cases every day. Of 150 cases, 70 cases are follow-up cases while remaining are new. There are also 15 drug addiction cases among teenagers and 95 percent of cases are heroi-abusers.
According to the doctors, after doing serological tests of these patients, of the 100, 70 cases are found to have Hepatitis C disease. So far, four HIV cases have also been reported at the hospital. As per the 10-district addiction survey, Kashmir has around 70,000 substance users, and 52,000 people are using IV Heroin. As per doctors, surge in drug abuse cases is alarming and there should be some serious steps to curb this menace besides focusing on youngsters’ mental health in Kashmir. They said that prevalence of Hepatitis-C was already in Kashmir and that was why it was spreading quickly among the heroin drug abusers. “Unlike other states, HIV cases are very less here. But if these cases surge, they will spread like a very dangerous fire. We need to stop drug abuse, especially heroin abuse,” they said.
HOD Drug De-addiction Center at SMHS Hospital, said earlier people used to come from specific areas and districts but now these patients are coming from every nook and corner of Kashmir. “We have patients even from well-off families. Uneducated, educated and even professionals are involved in drug abuse. It is an alarming situation right now,” he said. According to Psychiatrists, that the drug abuse menace in Kashmir had crossed all the barriers and now cases are found everywhere. “The dependence on drugs has increased. We even receive cases of people who are married. Even minor boys are getting addicted to drugs and substances, and it’s a serious public health issue,” he said. The doctors said that it was high time to take certain measures against drug abuse. “There should be some measures like supply reduction (to stop the drugs supply, production and trafficking), harm reduction (to raise awareness among youth regarding negative effects of drugs, awareness camps to minimize drug demand) and demand reduction (to increase treatment facilities for patients) which need to be put in place to save lives of people in Kashmir,” they added. Pertinent to mention here that Nash Mukt Jammu and Kashmir campaign has been launched in September 2022 to adopt zero tolerance policy against drug dealers and drug traffickers, and even LG Manoj Sinha has urged people that it is a collective responsibility of society to join this fight against drug menace.