Drug addiction in Bangladesh, an analysis

 

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