Drug addiction is a global concern. It is estimated that over 1 billion people on Earth use drugs.
Drug addiction is a social disease. Hunger, various national troubles and social upheavals also contribute to the spread of drug addiction. The worse people in a country are provided with material things - housing, food, work, medical care, the worse social issues are resolved, the more pronounced dissatisfaction, nervousness, tension, depression, uncertainty about the future, overwork, and anxiety.
This is especially true for young people - frequent life instability, lack of a clear perspective, unclear political platform, and lack of purpose lead to confusion and can contribute to drug addiction.
Ukraine is no exception. Over the years of Ukraine's independence, the incidence of mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of narcotic substances and their distribution has increased by 2.5-3 times, the number of underage drug addicts has increased by 25 times. According to official data, almost 125 thousand drug users are registered in Ukraine, including 6 thousand minors.
An anonymous survey in many Ukrainian schools revealed that every fifth student has tried drugs at least once, and 151% of middle school students would like to do so.
Drugs have become much more accessible; now they can be purchased almost freely, like alcoholic beverages or tobacco products, in places where young people gather (at discos, nightclubs, cafes) and even in schools and other educational institutions.
Addiction – a disease characterized by an irresistible craving for drugs. Systematic drug use, as a rule, causes a need to increase the dose. With drug addiction, internal organs are affected, neurological and mental disorders occur, and social degradation develops.
If we present the life of a drug addict in numbers, we get the following picture: the average life expectancy is 21 years; 50% drug addicts die six months after regular ("systematic") drug use; 13% live to be 30 years old and only 1% to 40; from 30 to 80% of all suicides are committed in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication.
The first dose, the first reaction, the first feeling of euphoria and freedom — these feelings captivate and inspire. Often they are so vivid that any memory of them leads to a desire to «continue the banquet.» However, drug use, in addition to the main effects of euphoria, altered consciousness and a «bouquet» of other «pleasures,» causes disruption of the functioning of organs and systems.
The transition to systematic use forces the body to adapt to constant poisoning. As a result of such a restructuring of the work of organs and systems, there is a decrease in sensitivity to the drug and a decrease in its main action. And one day the addict realizes that the usual use of the drug no longer brings the same sensations, and to get a high, the dose must be increased.
The drug subjugates the addict, paralyzes the will and prevents other life motives from "working", becoming a necessity for existence and contact with other people.
The desire for drug addiction is so powerful that it can completely suppress feelings of hunger and thirst, the need for sleep, and the most important life needs.
Physical dependence leads to a state in which there is no euphoria or drug intoxication. The drug becomes simply a means of survival.
Euphoria can only be achieved by constantly increasing the dose, but the body has limits to its capabilities, so drug addicts who follow this path quickly die from overdose.
Withdrawal syndrome ("withdrawal" syndrome, "breakdown") is the most powerful factor that provokes drug use. Prolonged deprivation of the addict's usual dose causes a disruption in the functioning of all organs.
The psyche suffers especially. Severe pain in the body, aches, lack of appetite, heart and breathing problems, terrifying illusions and hallucinations, fear of death. Moreover, the pain in the "breakdown" is very intense, constant, unbearable and can be accompanied by cramps, vomiting, dizziness. Such experiences are extremely difficult for the patient and after coming out of this state they are described as "hell's torment.".
Drug addiction is an extremely serious disease that affects all organs. Drug addiction and its consequences are very sad, because undermined health, a life that has gone downhill, and death at a young age are frequent phenomena for such people.
If drugs are injected, sharing a syringe can lead to hepatitis B and C, which can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer, and kidney failure.
HIV infection and subsequent development of AIDS are extremely common among drug addicts. AIDS kills the immune system, and then even a simple cold can cause death.
The consequences of drug addiction include severe pneumonia, syphilis, tetanus, and purulent infections. Drugs negatively affect the heart muscle — blood pressure and pulse change, and there is a possibility of developing bacterial endocarditis, which leads to heart failure and death.
Abscesses, phlegmons, and phlebitis of the veins may occur at the injection site, signs of which include high fever, pain when walking or moving the arms, secondary infection, and lameness.
The digestive system also suffers. The production of gastric juice is suppressed, nausea with vomiting, diarrhea appear. The addict refuses to eat, the body becomes exhausted. A stomach ulcer (often perforated), toxic inflammation of the intestines may occur.
The genitourinary system is suppressed. Hormones are not produced, the menstrual cycle is disrupted in women, sperm production is disrupted in men. Reproductive functions are destabilized. If women use drugs during pregnancy, miscarriages, birth of children with developmental defects, stillbirths, etc. are possible.
„"Vaccination" against drugs can only be a barrier of their resistance, which is brought up from childhood. According to experts, if preventive work is carried out at the proper level, the severity of the drug addiction problem can be reduced by 40%. Therefore, a preventive strategy should become the main direction of the fight against this social disaster, in particular, valeological education of adolescents and youth in educational institutions, the use of mass media in the interests of promoting a healthy lifestyle, the use of information influence tools adapted to the youth audience, during events in cultural and leisure institutions, etc.
Chuguyiv branch of the State Institution "Kharkiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine"«