It is estimated that near about 6 million people in Bangladesh are drug addicted and about 80 percent of the drug addicts are adolescents and young men of 15 to 30 years of age
According to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) report, approximately 1 million people are involved in the drug business in Bangladesh, where women and children are used as mules and youth are the customers. Apart from alcohol, the most commonly abused drugs are 'Yaba', heroin, marijuana, and cough syrup 'Phensedyl'. A recent study estimates that the number of addicts in Bangladesh is more than six million who spend over Tk 70 million daily on illegal narcotics. Young people abuse drugs due to complex social and peer groups' influence, frustration, depression, curiosity, and sub-cultural and psychological environment that induce the youths to take drugs.
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine says “addiction is a
disease of the brain” whereas another leading journal specifies “Genetics contributes significantly to
vulnerability to this disorder”. As with many other brain
diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the
disorder itself. An increased incidence of addiction is clearly a reflection of social demoralization. In
countries like Bangladesh, people are easily demoralized because of social or peer influence. And widespread
corruption, creating severe social injustices, and various types of criminal activities are very common here. Issues
of moral value declines in common people are expressed in many pieces of literature. Frustration, unemployment, lack
of recreation facilities, and bad companionship are the epic reasons for drug addiction among youth in this
country.
The “Yaba” Turmoil
In recent times, Yaba has gained popularity and
has become a "fashionable" drug. It is
estimated that there were about 4.6 million
regular users of Yaba (several combinations of
N-methylamphetamine and caffeine sold between
BDT 300 to BDT 2000, as red or pink pills) in
Bangladesh on or before 2012, which is
around 10-15 million according to Association
of Prohibiting Drug Abuse (MANAS) chief Dr.
Arup Ratan Chaudhury. Around 80% of
drug abusers are young people aged between 16
and 35, said the Department of Narcotic Control
report, 2016 by the Home Ministry. Cannabis
comprises 50% of all the cases detected by the
same report. A BBC report in April 2019
says that Bangladeshi authorities seized 53
million Yaba tablets nationally in 2018. The
total value of this illicit business is estimated to
be worth upwards of $ 1 billion a year. The
Naf River separating Bangladesh and Myanmar
is used by drug smugglers to bring in enough
yaba pills to allow the country to consume 2
million pills each day. Police say apart
from the listed godfathers, some 500 new
dealers are active in Teknaf now.
According to Addiction Management Integrated
Care (AMIC), some 250 female addicts took
treatment at AMIC during the period from 2015 to
2018. Nearly half of them took Yaba mainly
due to family unrest. More than 40% of unemployed youth are addicted. And among
addicts, more than 40% are female, close to
50% are educated and 60% are sex offenders,
around 95% are smokers and more than 85% get
into consuming drugs under the influence of
friends. The financial burden, one of the major burden
areas, is likely to be experienced by the families
due to the loss of patient's income and the use up of
funds to procure substances they are dependent
on. The economic burden may be caused by money
spent on substances, or money problems
associated with the loss of jobs or reliance on
public assistance. A substance-dependent
person in the family affects almost all aspects of
family life, for example, interpersonal and social
relationships, leisure time activities, and
finances. Members may feel anger, frustration,
anxiety, fear, worry, depression, shame, and
guilt, or embarrassment. Substance dependence
invariably increases conflicts, negatively affects
family members and burdens families.
reference-Drug Addiction in Bangladesh: “A Consequence of Social
Demoralization Rather than Individual Flaws”Abdul Kader Mohiuddin
