A Survey on Drug Abuse Among Adolescents and Youth

Abstract

Background In Bangladesh, drug addiction affects the majority of the population, particularly the youth. Multiple drug use has worsened the issue, overall impacting our social, economic, and personal lives as well as deteriorating our health status. Objective The study's goals were to identify the types of drugs taken by drug users, the factors that contribute to addition, as well as its warning signals and side effects, the adverse effects of drug addiction towards family, society and nation. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken in different rehabilitation centre in Uttara, Dhaka. Face-to-face interviews with the respondents were conducted using a close-ended questionnaire and a purposeful sampling approach. Frequencies and percentages are used in simple statistical calculations to analyze the data. Result The study included 100 participants in all. The age group of 20-25 years had the largest percentage of drug addicts(48%).However, close to 33.3% of the respondents used drugs when they were 13-19. Majority of the addicts were male(83.3%) and rest of the respondents were female(16.7%). It is quite alarming that most of the addicts were students and many of them had no knowledge on harmful effect and complication of drug addictions. The most common type of drug used by the addicts were marijuana. Recently Yaba has become most popular among the young. Depression due to different reasons and teenager curiosity were the main reason for involving in drug addictions. Conclusion All class of people of our country have been impacted by the hazards of drug addiction. So, action must be made to combat drug addiction and smuggling. To lower the illicit demand for drugs, nationwide concerted action is necessary. Additionally, more drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation facilities are needed to tackle the current condition.