The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to participate with the world countries in celebrating the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which takes place on 26th June every year. The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is celebrated this year under the theme: “With our cooperation, we can protect our generation”. Drug Addiction is deemed one of the most dangerous mental and social problems, and has the most serious impact on the human health: mentally, physically and economically alike.
A report released by the National Center for Media and Health Awareness at the Ministry of Health (MOH) has indicated that there are many kinds of drugs, all of which are dangerous, whether those derived from a natural source (such as qat, opium, morphine, cannabis, and cocaine), or those man-made (such as heroin, amphetamine, narcotics pills and volatile solvents). The report showed, besides, that the most common of narcotic drugs in our region is opium, followed by captagon tablets, followed by heroin, all of which lead to serious mental and physical diseases.
“The most common symptoms of drug addiction are drowsiness, shivering, redness of eyes, pupil dilation, poor hygiene and general appearance, loss or increase of appetite, dark circles around eyes and sleep disorders,” the report reads.
Moreover, the report showed that the family can find out whether one of its members is an addict through the following indicators; change of friends, aggressiveness, social isolation and withdrawal, poor academic performance, laziness and absence from school or work, unwarranted increase of demand on money, as well as unstable and violent relations with parents and siblings.
Furthermore, the report pointed out that the most common complications of drug addiction are change in personality, deterioration in job and perceptive performance, mental problems such as feeling unconscious and lacking correct judgment on matters, and immune system disorders such as getting effected with sexual and viral diseases like hepatitis. Besides, the report stated that the complications of drug addiction include hormonal disorders such as sterility and its impact on the fertility process, family disintegration and divorce, and the spread of crimes in an endeavor to get money for drugs.
With regard to protection against drug abuse, the report has underlined the importance of upholding religious morals among sons, respecting their opinion, encouraging them to speak freely, giving them confidence to express themselves, building close relations with them, promoting cultural values and principles, as well as encouraging them to participate in positive activities such as sports, painting, and programming etc. The report has also recommended to teach children how to deal with mental stress and frustration, reinforce the family bonds among its members, and teach them that showing dissent at certain behaviors doesn’t mean hating them, in addition to taking the necessary cautions, as most parents do not think that their children may fall victims to drug abuse (May Allah protect all against drugs ).
On another hand, the Center has prepared brochures, roll-ups, posters and awareness flashes, to be distributed by the health affairs general directorates all over the Kingdom’s regions, coinciding with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry has 22 mental health hospitals, to be added to Al-Amal Complexes disseminated all over the Kingdom’s regions, and 100 mental health clinics at the general and specialist hospitals.