Tahir Mushtaq
JAMMU, July 15: Petrol addiction cases are on increase in the city from few years. More often minors are found using petrol as an inhaling drug. Petrol addiction starts with the snuffing and inhaling of the petrol by the users and gradually the user starts drinking petrol.
A senior counsellor and in-charge Mashwara Rehabilitation centre in Jammu region Pallavi Singh said that drug abuse has led to a detrimental impact on the society. She said that the centre has receives about 30 per cent cases of petrol addiction every month from the last about 3 years.
“At the beginning we start with the counseling of the petrol addicts and if required we give them medicines,” she added. The centre has received the cases mostly of the users ageing between 16 to 18.
She added that restless, cramps, asthma and sleepless are the symptoms of this addiction. Adolescent drug abuse she said is one of the major areas of concern in adolescent and young people’s behavior. It is estimated that in India by the time most boys reach the ninth grade about 50 per cent of them have tried at least one of the gateway drugs, she added.
Dr Manu Arora, a well-known psychiatrist said that the users start in taking the whitener fluid and then gradually start taking petrol. He said that many awareness camps are being organized to avoid the users taking petrol as a drug.
He added that it is increasing because petrol is the easily, inexpensive product and could be used by the users in a group.
Briefing about the methods of using petrol as a drug he said that snuffing, huffing and bugging are the mostly used methods. He said that earlier 16 to 18 age group persons were discovered but now even children with the age group of 8-10 are using petrol as a drug.
“Scrap collectors are the eager users of petrol as a drug,” he added.
He said that recently a young boy, the only son of his parents, committed suicide sometime back in Jammu as he had become a chronic petrol addict. “Otherwise also, this addiction has quite dangerous consequences as the person may die within a year or so,” he said.
According to the officials, trafficking in cannabis remains widespread throughout India and in 2008, the authorities seized 103 tonnes cannabis herb and 4.1 tonnes cannabis resin.
With a turnover of around $500 billion, it is the third largest business in the world, next to petroleum and arms trade. About 190 million people all over the world consume one drug or the other.
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