Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 09:
The academic awareness programme on drug abuse and illicit trafficking was kicked off today at Hundred Flowers' Hr Sec School, Pangei.
The programme basically conceived to create awareness of the ill effects of drug abuse among students was opened with a lecture on 'substance abuse among school/college students' by psychiatrist of JN Hospital Dr RK Kumarjit.
The students were enlightened on 'Effects of psychiatric drugs on the body' by Dr K Priyokumar of JN Hospital while advocate Somorjit Hawaibam spoke on 'illicit drug trafficking'.
According to Dr Kumarjit, use of liquor by pregnant women may cause mental retardation to the unborn child, sometimes it may also cause failure in conception.
Quoting the World Health Organisation publications, he said there were 10 varieties of drugs which have been declared illegal.
He further dealt on the ill effects of using these drugs on the society, families and the drug users.
Dr Priyokumar said that the SP tablets which have been widely abused by the youths currently is meant for use as pain killer for ailments like bodyache, abdominal pain etc.
The infamous no 4 is also used in cancer treatment, he said.
Such abuse of drugs which were basically manufactured for use in treatment of various diseases and addition of certain chemicals in no 4 for use as pleasure substance is a matter of great concern as it affects severely both the physical and mental health of the abuser, added Dr Priyokumar.
Intravenous injection of SP tablets by drug abusers poses serious threats to the health of the abuser in more than one way.
As the society and the police prohibits such abuse of drugs, most of the drug abusers injected SP tablets in the veins of private parts where the needle marks are usually not seen.
Such widespread injection of SP tablets also contributed to the spread of HIV because of syringe sharing and other diseases transmitted through blood, said Dr Priyokumar.
Most often, injection of SP tablets caused huge boils, infection in bones, cardiac diseases etc.
There have been cases of limbs amputation following enlargement of veins as a result of SP injection, he noted adding that most of the victims of drug abuse came for medical treatment only in the advanced stage of the disease as they feared to disclose their ailments to their parents at the early stage.