Use of illicit substances five times national figure: Survey

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 20

The youth in Punjab is more inclined to illegal drugs, including opioid drugs, stimulant drugs, inhalant substances and prescription drugs, than tobacco and alcohol. A recent survey has highlighted this.

National Mental Health Survey conducted by Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences has brought out that 13.42 per cent of the state’s population suffers from some kind of mental disease.

The sample size of the survey was 2,895 adults.

As per the survey, 11.34 per cent of the people in Punjab suffer from substance use disorder. Alcohol tops the list with 7.9 per cent followed by tobacco (5.5 per cent). Around 2.5 per cent of the people are addicted to other or illicit substances.

The illicit substances include cannabis products, opioid drugs, stimulant drugs, inhalant substances and prescription drugs. The survey report has observed that mostly, the youth between 18 and 29 years are addicted to illicit substances.

The use of other substances in Punjab is five times the national figure. Nationally, just 0.6 per cent of the people suffer from other substance use disorder (dependence and abuse).

When it comes to alcohol use disorder in Punjab, it is almost double the national figure; at the national level, only 4.6 per cent of the population suffers from alcohol use disorder.

Punjab is far better when it comes to tobacco use disorder. It is just 5.5 per cent in the state while, at the national level, it is more than 20 per cent.

As per the study, except tobacco, other substance use disorder is higher in rural areas. The prevalence of any substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder is the highest among persons in the 30-39 age bracket followed by persons aged 60 years and above.

It is the lowest among persons aged between 18 and 29 years. “On the contrary, the prevalence of other substance use disorder is the highest among younger age groups, that is 18-29 years and 30-39 years,” the survey report reads.

The prevalence of tobacco use disorder has been found to be the highest among persons aged 50 to 59 years followed by persons aged between 30 and 39 years.

The prevalence of all substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorder is the lowest among persons living in urban non-Metro areas as compared to rural and urban Metro areas.