Devastating Habit
Substance abuse in Asia-Pacific region is giving rise to a multitude of social and health problems
Growing affluence in the Asia-Pacific region has been accompanied by rising substance abuse, partly helping spread the deadly AIDS virus, according to a WHO report released in September.
Asia has the largest share of treatment centers for amphetamine-type-stimulant (ATS) abusers in the world with 18 percent of the global total, the report said.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime lists amphetamines, notably methamphetamine, as the major problem drug in Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea.
UN data show an estimated 3.3 million injecting drug users in Asia, and in a number of countries, this is largely driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Alcohol, cannabis, opium, heroin are the major drugs abused in India.
A report published by the UN drugs office and India's Ministry of Social Justice estimates 62.5 million users of alcohol, 8.75 million of cannabis, two million of opiates, and 600,000 of hypnotics or sedatives in that country.
The report concluded that between 17 percent and 25 percent of these people could be classified as dependent users WHO need urgent treatment.
Southeast Asia is "plagued" by high levels of ATS and injecting drug users, as well as a dramatic increase in alcohol consumption, said WHO regional director Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang.
"A recent trend is [an] increase in glue, petrol, and solvent sniffing. A disturbing observation is that more and more young people are being drawn into this devastating habit," he said.
"Many developing countries in the region are experiencing rapid social and economic changes, resulting in the greater availability of a wide range of different psychoactive substances--everything from tobacco to illicit drugs," said Shigeru Omi, WHO director for the Western Pacific. This has given rise to an increase in associated health and social problems, including substance dependence, he added.
The WHO report Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence, the first of its type produced by the agency, summarizes the latest scientific data on the role of the brain in substance dependence.
Citing the rapid advances in neuroscience, it concludes that substance dependence is as much a disorder of the brain as any other neurological or psychiatric disorder.
According to UN data, an estimated 200 million people globally use one or more types of illicit substances. The most common is cannabis, followed by amphetamines, cocaine, and the opioids.
Illicit substance use is more prevalent among males than females, much more so than cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. Substance abuse is also more prevalent among young people than older groups.
UN data show that 2.7 percent of the total global population, and 3.9 percent of people 15 years and above, used cannabis at least once in 2000 and 2001.
While the use of traditional illicit drugs such as opiates continues to increase in the Western Pacific region, the wider use of drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants and ketamine is emerging very rapidly, according Wang Xiangdong, regional adviser on mental health and substance abuse at the WHO regional office in Manila.
"Illicit drug use accounts for about 0.6 percent of the burden of disease in the region," he said. "These drug-use behaviors are highly related to HIV/AIDS infections. For example, reported illicit drug users in China number more than one million, and about 70 percent of HIV infections are related to drug use."
The WHO says that while illicit substance use is a major concern, the main global health burden is due to licit substances such as alcohol and tobacco. In 2001 alcohol and tobacco accounted for 5.5 percent and 4.1 percent of the global health burden respectively.
AFP
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