Thesis on on Is there any trade-off tobacco consumption and drug addiction?

Thesis on  on Is there any trade-off tobacco consumption and drug addiction? An inquiry into some selected slums of Dhaka City

Now-a-days drug dependency is gradually engulfing the society from womb to tomb throughout the world. This cross sectional descriptive study was carried out at selected some slums in Dhaka city during the period from January 2009 to June 2009 with a view to find out the possible trade-off tobacco consumption and drug addiction among the drug dependent individuals. The respondents were selected by purposive sampling technique and were interviewed face to face by using a pre-tested semi structured questionnaire. 

The world is in crisis due to drug epidemic. It is a multidimensional problem which spans social, political, economic, geographic, legal, health and cultural spheres and affects all sectors of community. No nation in the world is immune to drug abuse related troubles.1 Drug dependency is however not a new phenomenon and the human being in almost all over the world are practicing this habit from time even before modern civilization had developed.

Drug dependence, a global crisis, is a major socio-medical problem in developing countries like Bangladesh. Being one of the major public health problems, it has not so far been considered in the development planning in Bangladesh.12 In recent times, it is increasing and invaded every fabric of the social life in both urban and rural Bangladesh. Crime, violence, poverty, malnutrition, sexual diseases, inadequate health care facilities etc are major troubles in this country. In addition to inflection of these complexities, the entire Bangladesh is now being afflicted by the drug dependence related problems.1 Its effect are so devastating that it shatters our traditional values, in stabilizes socio-economic sectors and even threatens the security of a nation.7, 9

Because of the geographic location in the midst of major drug-producing and exporting countries, Bangladesh is used by trafficking organizations as a transit point.3 Bangladesh is located between the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent making it vulnerable to be a transit for trafficking of drugs. Drug traffickers find it comparatively easy to traffic their merchandise through the seacoast and waterways of the country. Bangladesh has a very large porous border with India, where Phensedyl (a cough suppressant syrup containing codeine phosphate) is produced legally. Of late Phensedyl has become a drug of abuse in Bangladesh, although its production was banned in 1982. Moreover, an injectable Indian drug known as tidigesic injection (containing buprenorphine) is being abused in Bangladesh. Through its large and porous border, it is very easy to smuggle these drugs into Bangladesh.4

The most common drugs used in Bangladesh are stimulant drugs. More and more people are beginning to use them such as middle aged people, old people, housewives and young girls, university students, even high school students. Now a days teenager and youths use sleeping pills as a drug. Sleeping pills are randomly being used since they can be easily bought from any nearby medicine shop/pharmacy and in most cases without doctor’s prescription. These are: Enoctine, Seduxene, Phenergan, Stemetil, Laxatine.

Seizures of Heroin, phensidyl (a codeine-based, highly-addictive cough syrup produced in India), and pathedine (an injectable opiate with medical application as an anesthesia) point to growing narcotics abuse in Bangladesh. Phensidyl is popular because of its low price and widespread availability. There are unsubstantiated allegations of opium and cannabis production in the Bandarban District along the Burmese border and cannabis production in the southern silt-island ("char") region. The country's porous borders make Bangladesh an attractive transfer point for drugs transiting in this region. There are no reports of production, trading or transit of precursor chemicals in Bangladesh. 

Drug Dependence, a decaying menace, is not only injurious to an individual but also imperils the health of the entire social fabric with fast cascading impact.

There are many reasons to get involved with drugs, but easy availability is the main cause for becoming drug addicts. Unemployment, family feud, parents' unruly behaviors, degradation of moral values and lack of healthy entertainment are the main reasons behind the drug addiction of the students.

Acute or chronic drug abuse has been linked to many problems. Road traffic accidents, fires and injuries are more prevalent among drug abusers. Chronic drug abuse is also associated with psychological disturbances and behavioral alternations. These changes often lead to weight loss, contributing in turn to the development of malignant and infectious diseases. Detoxification therapy has proved to be a major financial burden. The detoxification processes is complicated and produces only modest results, as there is a high relapse rate.

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