solvent-abuse-pakistan

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Section three Fig. 3.3.4a Etiology of Solvent Abuse Curiosity Forget the past Relatives Enviornment Neglection Domestic Voilence Group Violence Peer/Friends Misc 53.6 Them with a sense of belonging to the ingroup and gives them courage to commit crimes and higher levels of violence. 3.4.5 Consequences of Use 4.3 A range of negative consequences and problems can arise from persistent use of solvents. When explored in FGD, the children revealed various medical and social problems they have been facing over the past two years. Although youth is generally a time of relatively good health, but, the nature of continuous exposure to the streets and the associated lifestyles makes street children vulnerable to a range of health and other problems which are 4.3 8.4 8.7 5 2.6 3.1 9.9 not typically experienced by other young people. The majority of children did not report any severe medical problems that they faced, however minor ailments and health problems have been reported. Although use of solvents has its own untoward effects on the health of the Box 3. Medical Consequences of Solvent Abuse Chest Infections & Breathing (16.4%) Fever (16%) Generalized Weakness & Myalgia (8.9%) Skin Infections (3.6%) Gastric upsets (3.8%) Headache (2.6%) Urinary Infections (1.9%) Semi-consciousness (1.0%) Misc (5.5%) individual, but the results of surveys of chronic solvent abusers are reassuring that physical organ damage is not a significant or widespread problem for most abusers. The degree and duration of abuse required producing harm to heart, brain, kidneys and liver is unknown because several years of 35,43,17 regular abuse appears to be necessary. 157 children (37.7%) reported that they had been facing problems due to solvent abuse. The number one social problem quoted was neglect, hatred and non-acceptance by the society (46.5%). Incidences have been reported where children were cast out from their families (4%) and lost jobs (2.3%) due to their involvement with solvents. In depth Box 3. Social Consequences of Abuse Neglect ion & Hatred (46.5%) Group Violence (21.7%) Police threats (12.9%) Out casted from family (4.1%) Living in non hygienic condition (3.5%) Lost jobs (2.3%) Others (9.9%) FGD's revealed that children viewed their parents as impassive who else would take care of them. People considered them rebellions, runaways and apathetic towards others. They are generally thought to have no values (moral, social, religious or ethical) and are largely gangsters involved in crime that extended from simple theft to drug paddling or even commercial sex. Children reported that such negative attitude of the society inculcated a feeling of hatred, neglect and denial of care. They pointed out that everyone around hated, manipulated and exploited them so they would also do the same to them. Such kind of negativity when expressed and exposed took the shape of violence, which according to the children is a reciprocation of what they have received. Amazingly, the children were positive that to repay society they needed strength not only from outside but from their own selves, which could only be achieved through abuse of solvents or other drugs. This façade terrified others around them so at least for the time being helped in their survival without many efforts and courage and so the vicious cycle continues. Thus it is difficult to comment whether spending time on the street made them so or the abuse of solvents/drugs gave rise to such consequences. The effect could be reciprocal. The principle of trial and error was the first step towards a long journey without a destination. 26 27
Section three 3.4.6 Treatment When asked if they ever tried to break the habit of solvent use, and how it could be done, only 20.7% of the respondents reported to have undergone any sort of treatment, and that too was a self-treatment in more than half of the incidences. Approximately 70% of the children were unaware of any organization / institution where they could be treated and rehabilitated. The results are summarized in table 3.3.6a. Table 3.3.6a Treatment History Question n (%) 3.5 Use of other Drugs & HIV awareness 3.5.1 Use of other Drugs The relationship between the use of Solvents and other drugs is a complex one. Although a possibility can be linked, but research is unable to answer whether the use of solvents leads to abuse of more potent addictive drugs, such as heroin etc, 44 in future. A lifetime prevalence of tobacco use was seen among these children, in all provinces. The various forms of tobacco use were 2 categorized as Cigarettes, Pan & Gutka. Cigarette smoking is an extremely prevalent (87%) characteristic found in all the four cities, while eating Pan (filled with tobacco) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 87 39 17 Cigarette Pan Gutka 95 96 20 2 76 74 8 4 0 82 60 56 OVERALL Lahore Quetta Peshawar Karachi is a common practice in Peshawar among street children abusing solvents. As seen in our research, Karachi presented a complicated picture, where all forms of tobacco were being used. It was seen that these children become involved with tobacco, start smoking at a very young age (the mean age ± sd of the children at starting smoking was found to be 9.89 ± 8.6). Cigarette smoking appears to be the first addictive agent that has been used by the majority of these children, before they start experimenting and getting involved with other drugs as well as solvents. Information about other drugs including hashish, opium, marihuana and heroin use was also gathered. The respondents were initially asked about the use as “ever used” which in case of a positive reply was followed by regular use of the drug during the last 30 days. Information on alcohol intake was also gathered. Use of hashish was found to be significantly prevalent among this group. While 68.8% children reported that they had “ever used” hashish, an overall 62.5% children reported regular use during the past 30 days. The citywide distribution was fairly uniform, with the highest prevalence noticed in Quetta (80.4%) followed by Lahore (73.4%), Karachi (65.7%) and surprisingly Peshawar (55%). Although only 8.9% of the total reported regular use of alcohol, yet by contrast, street children from Quetta rated as the highest users of alcohol (21.4%). Table 3.4.1 b Use of other drugs during past 30 days Alcohol Hashish Opium Bhang Heroin Synthetic drugs 8.9% 62.5% 3.6% 4.1% 0.2% 5.3% A minor proportion of children reported involvement in other drugs during the past 30 days i.e., Bhang (4%), Opium (3.6%) and Synthetic drugs (5.3%). Only one child reported regular use of heroin. It is worth noting here that the overall research conducted in the country has shown a similar 27 picture in which Hashish is the most common drug of abuse among drug users, with varying proportions of drug abusers reporting use of other drugs. The drug use situation of street children is not different, from the overall drug abuse picture in the country. However additional research is required to develop a sound understanding of the subject, as well as to study the aetiology of substance abuse. Citywide distribution of drugs ever used by the 2. Local form of tobacco which is kept in mouth and chewed. 28 29
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Page 9 and 10: BACKGROUND & INTRODUCTION Section o
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Page 29 and 30: REFRENCES Section four Formative o

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