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Steps to prevent drug addiction


SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA

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  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

    Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

The service is confidential. We will not ask you for any personal information. We may ask for your zip code or other pertinent geographic information in order to track calls being routed to other offices or to accurately identify the local resources appropriate to your needs.

No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

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Last Updated: 08/30/2022

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

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Misusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

The misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans. NSDUH estimates allow researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general public to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health. These reports and detailed tables present estimates from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Alcohol

Data:

  • Among the 133.1 million current alcohol users aged 12 or older in 2021, 60.0 million people (or 45.1%) were past month binge drinkers. The percentage of people who were past month binge drinkers was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (29.2% or 9.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (22.4% or 49.3 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (3.8% or 995,000 people). (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 15.1% (or 5.9 million people) were past month alcohol users. Estimates of binge alcohol use and heavy alcohol use in the past month among underage people were 8.3% (or 3.2 million people) and 1.6% (or 613,000 people), respectively. (2021 NSDUH)
  • In 2020, 50.0% of people aged 12 or older (or 138.5 million people) used alcohol in the past month (i.e., current alcohol users) (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among the 138.5 million people who were current alcohol users, 61.6 million people (or 44. 4%) were classified as binge drinkers and 17.7 million people (28.8% of current binge drinkers and 12.8% of current alcohol users) were classified as heavy drinkers (2020 NSDUH)
  • The percentage of people who were past month binge alcohol users was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (31.4%) compared with 22.9% of adults aged 26 or older and 4.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Excessive alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of stroke, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, cancer, and other serious health conditions
  • Excessive alcohol use can also lead to risk-taking behavior, including driving while impaired. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver daily

Programs/Initiatives:

  • STOP Underage Drinking interagency portal - Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Talk. They Hear You.
  • Underage Drinking: Myths vs. Facts
  • Talking with your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol

Relevant links:

  • National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
  • Department of Transportation Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance
  • Alcohol Policy Information Systems Database (APIS)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Tobacco

Data:

  • In 2020, 20.7% of people aged 12 or older (or 57.3 million people) used nicotine products (i.e., used tobacco products or vaped nicotine) in the past month (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among past month users of nicotine products, nearly two thirds of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (63.1%) vaped nicotine but did not use tobacco products. In contrast, 88.9% of past month nicotine product users aged 26 or older used only tobacco products (2020 NSDUH)
  • Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, often leading to lung cancer, respiratory disorders, heart disease, stroke, and other serious illnesses. The CDC reports that cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States
  • The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health reports that more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking cigarettes

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use data:

  • In 2021, 13.2 million people aged 12 or older (or 4.7%) used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. The percentage of people who vaped nicotine was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (14.1% or 4.7 million people), followed by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (5.2% or 1.4 million people), then by adults aged 26 or older (3.2% or 7.1 million people).
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 11.0% (or 4.3 million people) used tobacco products or used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. Among people in this age group, 8.1% (or 3.1 million people) vaped nicotine, 5.4% (or 2.1 million people) used tobacco products, and 3. 4% (or 1.3 million people) smoked cigarettes in the past month. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Among both middle and high school students, current use of e-cigarettes declined from 2019 to 2020, reversing previous trends and returning current e-cigarette use to levels similar to those observed in 2018
  • E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, or pregnant women, especially because they contain nicotine and other chemicals

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Tobacco
  • Tips for Teens: E-cigarettes
  • Implementing Tobacco Cessation Programs in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Settings
  • Synar Amendment Program

Links:

  • Truth Initiative
  • FDA Center for Tobacco Products
  • CDC Office on Smoking and Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Tobacco, Nicotine, and E-Cigarettes
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: E-Cigarettes

Opioids

Data:

  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2021, 3. 3% (or 9.2 million people) misused opioids (heroin or prescription pain relievers) in the past year. Among the 9.2 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 8.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers compared with 1.1 million people who used heroin. These numbers include 574,000 people who both misused prescription pain relievers and used heroin in the past year. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2020, 3.4% (or 9.5 million people) misused opioids in the past year. Among the 9.5 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 9.3 million people misused prescription pain relievers and 902,000 people used heroin (2020 NSDUH)
  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Understanding the Epidemic, an average of 128 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose

Resources:

  • Medications for Substance Use Disorders
  • Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
  • TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Criminal Justice Settings
  • Opioid Use Disorder and Pregnancy
  • Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants
  • The Facts about Buprenorphine for Treatment of Opioid Addiction
  • Pregnancy Planning for Women Being Treated for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Tips for Teens: Opioids
  • Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Grants
  • Tribal Opioid Response Grants
  • Provider’s Clinical Support System - Medication Assisted Treatment Grant Program

Links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Opioids
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Heroin
  • HHS Prevent Opioid Abuse
  • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network
  • Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network

Marijuana

Data:

  • In 2021, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 18. 7% of people aged 12 or older (or 52.5 million people) using it in the past year. The percentage was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (35.4% or 11.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (17.2% or 37.9 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (10.5% or 2.7 million people).
  • The percentage of people who used marijuana in the past year was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (34.5%) compared with 16.3% of adults aged 26 or older and 10.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Marijuana can impair judgment and distort perception in the short term and can lead to memory impairment in the long term
  • Marijuana can have significant health effects on youth and pregnant women.

Resources:

  • Know the Risks of Marijuana
  • Marijuana and Pregnancy
  • Tips for Teens: Marijuana

Relevant links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Marijuana
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Centers on Marijuana
  • CDC Marijuana and Public Health

Emerging Trends in Substance Misuse:

  • Methamphetamine—In 2019, NSDUH data show that approximately 2 million people used methamphetamine in the past year. Approximately 1 million people had a methamphetamine use disorder, which was higher than the percentage in 2016, but similar to the percentages in 2015 and 2018. The National Institute on Drug Abuse Data shows that overdose death rates involving methamphetamine have quadrupled from 2011 to 2017. Frequent meth use is associated with mood disturbances, hallucinations, and paranoia.
  • Cocaine—In 2019, NSDUH data show an estimated 5.5 million people aged 12 or older were past users of cocaine, including about 778,000 users of crack. The CDC reports that overdose deaths involving have increased by one-third from 2016 to 2017. In the short term, cocaine use can result in increased blood pressure, restlessness, and irritability. In the long term, severe medical complications of cocaine use include heart attacks, seizures, and abdominal pain.
  • Kratom—In 2019, NSDUH data show that about 825,000 people had used Kratom in the past month. Kratom is a tropical plant that grows naturally in Southeast Asia with leaves that can have psychotropic effects by affecting opioid brain receptors. It is currently unregulated and has risk of abuse and dependence. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that health effects of Kratom can include nausea, itching, seizures, and hallucinations.

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Methamphetamine
  • Tips for Teens: Cocaine
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse

More SAMHSA publications on substance use prevention and treatment.

Last Updated: 03/22/2023

PREVENTION OF DRUG ADDICTION

Drug addiction is a state of a person when he constantly thinks about drugs, seeks to get them for certain pleasant sensations or getting rid of mental discomfort. In order to get a feeling of euphoria, the addict goes to any lengths. He easily crosses the boundaries of morality, destroys his family, becomes a criminal and even a murderer. The personality of a drug addict becomes egocentric, and the body is depleted, as a result of which the addict “rolls” towards his death with incredible speed.

Since the drug addict's interests are focused only on obtaining and using drugs, his circle of contacts is mainly anti-social personalities. An experienced drug addict has no job, no friends, no family. For society, it is completely useless and only causes problems. Therefore, society, not only for the sake of its own comfort, but also for humane purposes, seeks to reduce the growth of drug addiction and return people dependent on drugs to a full life.

And the most accessible and modern way for this is the prevention of drug addiction and substance abuse in schools. After all, it is teenagers who most often become victims of these addictions. Children with the right approach and available information are able to form their own opinion about such a phenomenon as drug addiction. They are able to clearly understand what drugs are, how they affect the body, and what are the consequences of their use.

Prevention of drug addiction among teenagers

The life of potential drug addicts, their families and society in general depends on the quality of preventive work. Therefore, the prevention of drug addiction in adolescents should not be carried out negligently and “for the sake of show”.

In Russia at the beginning of the last century, drug addiction was widespread. Both cocaine and opiates were used. By the end of the 1930s, the Soviet Union had almost completely eradicated this phenomenon, although no preventive measures were taken.

The reason for the incredible success was the "Iron Curtain", which isolated the USSR from other countries, as well as tight control over citizens, mass repressions and a low degree of corruption of officials. In the 60s, the percentage of drug addicts among the population of the Soviet Union was miserable. And it included, mainly, morphine addicts who became addicted during treatment for serious illnesses, and patients in psychiatric clinics who received drugs according to doctors' prescriptions. Their family members and acquaintances were also included in this small percentage.

At that time, drug prevention was limited to warning people about the dangers of using morphine as a drug. There was a compassionate attitude towards the few drug addicts in those days, as to flawed people.

Even in the criminal code of the Soviet Union there was no article on the manufacture and distribution of drugs. Everything was presented in such a way that there is no drug addiction in the country. But in the southern regions of the state, the tradition of growing poppies and hemp flourished. These cultures were used as medicines for certain diseases and sedatives. But by the end of the 70s, the authorities could no longer ignore the sharp increase in drug addicts.

Then the prevention of drug addiction among young people could significantly reduce the number of drug addicts, but the problem was hushed up. The 80s became the period of formation of a new image of a drug addict. The youth used intravenously opium, ephedrine, pervitin. Having injection marks with a syringe or languidly scratching the injection site has even become fashionable. A network of drug distribution was quickly established. In free sale for mere pennies, one could buy potent narcotic drugs.

Drug addicts became an object of public interest, they stood out from the general mass. AT 9In the 0s, a real epidemic of drug infection among teenagers swept the country. Compared to that time, today the number of drug addicts has decreased, but this is only due to high mortality. But the general trend towards narcotization of society is growing. In Russia, the drug control service claims that 5.5% of the country's population are drug addicts. In Ukraine, the number of only those who are registered in drug dispensaries is 300 thousand people. And the real number of drug addicts is ten times more.

Drug prevention activities

Drug prevention should be an integral part of education. To do this, lectures and classes on drug prevention are held in schools, documentaries and feature films are shown. Good preventive work among adolescents produces tangible results, and it should be carried out constantly and on a large scale. Properly carried out preventive measures among adolescents will certainly become a deterrent and reduce the number of young people who “sit down” on drugs. Teachers, psychologists and social workers in their work on the prevention of drug addiction among adolescents and children can use the methods developed in Russia. The main principle of this technique is based on filling the information vacuum and involves the creation of an active and constantly funded flow of advertising and publications in the media about measures to prevent drug addiction and alcoholism.

Information on drug prevention must meet the following requirements:

  • be positive and not have a hint of hopelessness;
  • negative information should highlight the tragic consequences of alcohol and drug use;
  • The media must not show scenes of drug and alcohol use;
  • any publication should have a conclusion in the form of understandable information and recommendations for the prevention of alcohol and drug use;
  • each publication must have a motivational impact on the target audience;
  • preparation of materials should be carried out only by specialists - narcologists, psychologists, law enforcement officers, social workers;
  • any information on the prevention of drug addiction and alcoholism must be approved by a special expert council.

Telephone counseling should also be organized as part of the complex of measures for the prevention of drug addiction.

Three telephone services , operating in one system, can become a kind of information bridge for the population and help track the coordinates of drug stations. These are the following services:

  1. "Hot line". Its purpose is to inform the population on the issues of alcoholism and drug addiction, as well as to provide information about medical and rehabilitation institutions.
  2. 24/7 helpline for drug addicts. Chemical addiction specialists are on the phone.
  3. Helpline. It differs from the support phone in that professional psychologists answer questions and give recommendations.

Drug addiction, like alcoholism, is not a personal matter of a single person. Due to drug addiction, addicts have a very high risk of AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis, and no less possibility of their spread.

It is impossible to combine drugs and education, so young people involved in drug addiction quickly disadapt in society, get involved in crime, lose their families and become potentially dangerous to others.

To ensure active work on the prevention of alcoholism and drug addiction, stop the epidemic and provide all possible medical and rehabilitation assistance to patients, an appropriate legislative framework is required. After all, first of all, administrative responsibility for the use of drugs and the possibility of examining persons suspected of drug addiction are necessary. Primary prevention of drug abuse and rehabilitation of juvenile drug users should have a broad basis.

Types of drug prevention

WHO terminology distinguishes between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The goal of primary prevention is to prevent drug use. There are four main directions in the methodology of this prevention:

  1. active educational work among youth and adolescents;
  2. sanitary and hygienic education of the population;
  3. public struggle against the distribution and use of drugs;
  4. administrative and legislative measures.

Secondary prevention of substance abuse is the early identification and treatment of substance users, as well as relapse prevention and supportive care.

The task of tertiary prevention includes social, labor and medical rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Predisposition to drug addiction is determined by certain pathocharacterological features of the personality. Adolescents with an unstable, hysterical character, tolerant of any deviations from social and mental norms, prone to depression, negatively tuned to basic social requirements, have a tendency to use drugs.

Prevention of drug addiction also involves the active identification of points of narcotization. Young people have a strong sense of solidarity, so they use drugs in a group. So it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain information about his “comrades” in drugs from the teenager being examined. To do this, you should use the method of frontal examination of the immediate environment of the newly identified drug user.

Sanitary-educational work among children and adolescents is of no small importance in the prevention of drug addiction. But there is no consensus on this issue today. Some experts recommend conducting medical promotion in schools throughout the school year. Others consider it necessary to introduce a drug prevention course into the curriculum.

Representatives of the narcological service in schools and universities should conduct seminars to teach teachers the simplest methods of identifying various types of intoxication, and the formation of alertness in adolescents to this problem. We need stories about real cases of serious consequences of drug addiction - medical and social.

Reports of severe poisonings, injuries, deaths from drug overdoses, etc. are especially convincing. It is also necessary to focus the attention of adolescents on the harmful effects of drugs on physical development, intelligence and offspring.

Very important in preventive measures is the interaction between the juvenile drug treatment service and the relevant departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as commissions on juvenile affairs. Police officers should help attract young people to the examination and treatment of drug addiction. If a teenager avoids visiting a narcological dispensary, does not give in to psychotherapeutic influence and is the leader of a group of drug addicts, then administrative measures must be taken.

At the moment, unfortunately, medical psychology, narcology and sociology do not have sufficient knowledge to develop a rational and effective system for the prevention of drug addiction and alcoholism among adolescents. Until now, there is no scientific data on the biochemical mechanisms of the formation of drug dependence. This problem requires a comprehensive study, only then it will be possible to develop an effective drug prevention strategy.

Drug addiction prevention.

Surely everyone knows that drug addiction is one of the main problems of modern society. According to recent statistics, up to 1 percent of the adult population suffers from some form of drug addiction. At the same time, according to experts, this figure may be several times higher. Teenagers of school age account for up to 20 percent of all drug addicts. Most drug addicts are young people under the age of 30. In such circumstances, the problem of prevention and treatment of drug addiction among children and adolescents is extremely important.

What are drugs and addiction?

Drug addiction is a serious mental and physical disorder, which consists in the abuse and dependence of a person on psychotropic substances. At the same time, drugs are psychotropic substances that drive a person into a state of altered consciousness and cause physiological and psychological dependence. Such substances have characteristic side effects that have a serious negative impact on human health.

Every drug addict in between drug use has a painful condition, which is most often called drug withdrawal. With the help of drugs, a person gets an illusory feeling of pleasure. Euphoria from drugs lasts a very short period of time, up to a maximum of five minutes. Further, the mode of relaxation begins, gradually turning into drowsiness and delirium. This stage lasts from one to three hours.

Prevention of drug addiction as the main method of combating this disease

At the state level, the fight against drug addiction has been going on since ancient times. Often such a struggle is repressive in nature, directed against drug addicts.

Opiates have become widespread in our country since the last century. The repressive Soviet apparatus managed to almost completely eradicate drug addiction as a phenomenon by tough measures. To achieve this effect, the Soviet government did not use any preventive measures. The state simply exercised strict supervision over the activities of each individual citizen, which made it impossible to use drugs. In the conditions of modern society, such measures are inapplicable.

Such a state policy in the USSR regarding drug addiction led to the fact that while in the USA the hippie culture with its loyal attitude towards psychotropic substances was actively developing in the country of the Soviets, drug addicts were almost completely absent. It is worth noting that almost all drug addicts in the USSR took morphine as a drug to treat some kind of disease. Also, the total number of addicts was formed at the expense of mentally ill people taking narcotic drugs for the purpose of therapy.

Based on such factors, the state at that time did not take any preventive measures to prevent drug addiction, the only task was to control the consumption of morphine by patients. Under such conditions, a fairly loyal attitude towards drug addiction was formed in the USSR, which led to the absence of any criminal prosecution in relation to the distribution and use of drugs.

There was almost no drug addiction in the USSR, although hemp and opium were actively cultivated in the southern union republics. Only since the mid-1970s, society began to notice the growth of drug addicts, which forced the state to formulate a new policy on drug addiction and look for methods of preventing drug addiction.

The role of preventive measures in the fight against drug addiction

Through a more active policy of introducing preventive measures to prevent drug addiction among adolescents, the state could prevent the formation of a positive image of a drug addict among the young population. The romanticization of the use of narcotic and psychotropic substances eventually led to the loss of a whole generation of promising young people. Even 20-230 years ago, opiates, pervetin, and ephedrine were the most popular among drug addicts. At the same time, a channel for the sale of narcotic substances was formed, including through a network of pharmacies.

Interest in drug addicts has increased within society as people who clearly stand out in the crowd. Drug addicts belonged to the category of active youth, which formed the fashion for psychotropic drugs. As a result, all this led to the beginning of a real epidemic of drug addiction in the 90s.

To date, the total number of drug addicts has significantly decreased in comparison with the beginning of the 90s of the last century. This is mainly due to the high mortality rate among drug addicts. At the same time, a persistent trend in the society of drug addiction is still observed. In our country, the total proportion of drug addicts is about 5 percent. These figures are truly terrible statistics, because most of the drug addicts are young people under the age of 30-35 years.

The simplest, most effective and at the same time affordable preventive method for preventing drug addiction among adolescents is active advocacy work with children from early school age. Through such events, children and adolescents form a persistent negative association when mentioning drugs. A set of such measures helps prevent the development of drug addiction and the formation of psychological cravings to try psychotropic substances to obtain the desired euphoria.

Ultimately, it is safe to say that prevention is the best way to combat the spread of drug abuse among the young population. To visually demonstrate the harm and destructive effect of drugs on the body, children need to regularly read instructive lectures and show documentaries that tell all the horrors of the life of drug addicts.

Preventive measures to prevent drug abuse among adolescents

The majority of drug addicts are young people between the ages of 15 and 35. Based on this fact, most drug addicts began using narcotic and psychotropic substances in the last grades of school or shortly after graduating from the university or the army. It is for these reasons that the prevention of drug addiction among the young population plays a huge role in the fight against this terrible disease. The main objective of such measures is to reduce the total number of drug addicts by instilling in society the idea of ​​the inadmissibility of taking drugs.

Today, up to 5 percent of the population is a lost part of society due to their systematic use of psychotropic substances. At the same time, according to many narcologists, almost 10 percent of all drug addicts can be rid of their addiction and returned to a normal full life. Only a few can do it on their own. For this reason, it is important to contact professional specialized drug treatment centers for the treatment of drug addiction. One of these organizations is drug treatment center "Sniper" , where every drug addict gets a chance to get rid of his harmful addiction. Treatment of drug addiction is a difficult task, but the specialists of the Sniper Center can handle it.

Preventive measures among schoolchildren aimed at combating drug addiction

The character and most habits of a person are formed at an early age and in the primary school years. Therefore, it is extremely important to inform the child about drugs and their harmful effects from this age. Working with a child in the period from 5 to 10 years brings the best result. A person who at this age has formed a certain opinion for himself will not be able to refuse it. Researchers have proven that the worldview and ideas about right and wrong, formed in a person during this period, become the foundation for the development of a child in the adult world. Based on this, it is extremely important to engage in preventive measures against drug addiction starting from early school age.

It is also worth considering that, by and large, there is almost no point in explaining the dangers of drugs to 14-17-year-olds in the way that they already consider themselves adults and are confident that they are right even with regard to the harmlessness of so-called “soft” drugs. If a child has not received the necessary information at an early age, it will be extremely difficult to convince him in the future, especially if he, as a teenager, has already managed to try some substances.

Separately, it is important to note the methods of preventing drug addiction among middle school students. To do this, it is recommended to organize an annual visit to the walls of the school by a narcologist. A specialist during one lesson explains to teenagers about the dangers of drug addiction and the destructive effect of drugs on the body and their social development in society. Although this approach is ineffective, it can still bring a certain positive effect.

Prevention of drug addiction among schoolchildren should include lectures for their parents, which explain methods for detecting the fact that a child has used various psychotropic substances.

Drug prevention programs

Of course, most people are concerned about the development of state programs that could make drug addiction prevention bring real results in the form of a reduction in the total number of drug addicts within modern society. It is important to note that most of the methods aimed at achieving such goals are ineffective and almost do not bring any real result. In fact, to obtain a reliable result, drug prevention must include a certain set of measures, some of which may seem unacceptable to people.

Treatment of drug addiction is not the best method of dealing with an illness; prevention and education about the dangers of such drugs brings an effect for society. Such a set of measures helps to change the worldview of people and their ideas about drugs.

It is important to remember that advocacy work with the younger generation should include the demonstration of clear examples of the destructive effects of drugs. Children from early school age should see photos and videos of people taking drugs for a long time. Such shots are often similar to horror films, where people resemble animated corpses.

Such measures have a good effect when working with children under 10 years of age. At this age, a child develops a clear idea of ​​good and bad, and drugs will be clearly associated with negativity and death.

It is possible to prevent a person from taking drugs from an early age by forming a negative image of a drug addict in the mind, as an asocial element who kills himself. In this case, children's fears work well.

In the child's subconscious, it is important to create a terrible picture that a person will try in every possible way to prevent throughout his future life. Such methods are the best way to prevent the possibility of the beginning of drug use and the formation of a desire to join drug addicts. Prevention of drug addiction should mainly consist of such goals and measures.

According to many experts, drug addiction prevention should include the formation of small groups of schoolchildren who, under the supervision of a narcologist, would have to visit narcological dispensaries. In these institutions, young people could personally see what a person turns into as a result of taking drugs. Surely such shock therapy will bring good results, because no sane person will even come close to drugs, knowing what they lead to.

Of course, such an approach may seem cruel to someone from the point of view of influencing the child's psyche, but it must be borne in mind that such excursions must be accompanied by explanations from a professional psychologist. Thanks to such a program, children will be able to avoid taking drugs, which will save their health and life, as well as give them a chance to fully develop in human society.

For the prevention of drug use, it is extremely important to work with people from childhood, when the psyche is just being formed. Demonstration of reality in the form of the harmful effects of drugs on the body will protect the teenager from psychotropic things.

An important factor is the work with the parents of children. Every father and every mother should know the signs of drug intoxication. This will help them immediately determine if their child has taken psychotropic substances. At the same time, you should never put pressure on a teenager, and even more so raise a hand against him. It is important to turn to professionals who will be able to cleanse the child's body of drugs and their decay products, as well as to carry out psychological work to explain the perniciousness of addiction to narcotic drugs.

Our drug rehabilitation center "Sniper" employs the best psychologists and narcologists who have more than a wealth of experience working with adolescents suffering from drug addiction. We offer psychological rehabilitation and addiction treatment.

The main causes of drug addiction

Prevention of drug addiction cannot do without finding out the main reasons for the emergence of such a destructive addiction in a person. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to fight the disease until the cause that provokes its appearance is clarified. That is why it is extremely important to understand the mechanism that makes a person start taking drugs for ephemeral pleasure and immersion in the world of illusions, which will eventually lead to premature death due to exhaustion of the body.

Once the underlying causes of addiction have been identified, one can start talking seriously about developing drug prevention programs among the youth and adults.

No matter how strange it may seem, but the main reason for starting drug use is banal boredom and idleness. In the conditions of constant employment of parents and lack of money in the family, a young man of adolescence, instead of visiting a sports or some kind of creative section, begins to wander thoughtlessly down the street, where he is offered to try a variety of substances.

At the same time, it is important to note that the problem lies not in money, but in a disregard for the child. Instead of maintaining constant trusting contact between parents and children, adults often shift all responsibility to the school or grandparents. In such conditions, a person grows up and does not receive the necessary information that drugs are a real evil that destroys health and human lives.

Without parental attention, a teenager begins to seek contact with other people who treat their immature consciousness with psychotropic substances with pleasure in order to start making money on it in the future by selling drugs to it.

It is for these reasons that it is very important to pay attention to the child, to teach him that books, sports and self-development are the path to success, a good life and new positive impressions. Such upbringing will certainly protect the teenager from the desire to start drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, which in the future may develop into a desire to try “soft” drugs.

Ways to deal with drug addiction

The prevention and treatment of society from drug addiction should be based on fairly simple principles that must be observed in relation to the upbringing of the younger generation and work with the adult part of the population.

Prevention should be based on the principle of providing adolescents and children with alternatives to drugs. All kinds of creative circles and sports sections should act as a substitute for psychotropic substances. At the same time, the state is obliged to take care of the universal accessibility of such types of leisure. It is also important to form a strong opinion within society that sports, creativity and hobbies for science are cool, prestigious and exciting.

Sports sections and various clubs should be, if not completely free, then at least accessible to the entire population. Orphans and children from poor families from the state should receive free access to sports and creativity.

The mass availability and popularization of such leisure activities in a very short time will significantly reduce the number of drug addicts among adolescents and in the future reduce the total number of drug addicts among all age categories of the population.

It is also necessary to direct the efforts of the state to the formation of a civil society in which the main punishment will not be the law and the consequences of its violation, but public censure from other people. Thus, people will avoid drugs, fearing public rejection.

What absolutely can not be done in the process of educating the population about the dangers and dangers of drugs:

  • We must not allow intimidation of a person, it has long been experimentally proven that such tactics do not bring any real result;
  • It is unacceptable to engage in intentional distortion and misrepresentation regarding the real effect of narcotic substances and the consequences that arise as a result of their use;
  • It is strictly forbidden to provide false information of any nature. This is due to the fact that if the fact of a lie is revealed in the future, a teenager will develop distrust at the psychological level;
  • Justification of the use of drugs and romanticization of the image of a drug addict are also not allowed.

One of the main conditions for ensuring high-quality drug addiction prevention is the training of qualified personnel who will carry out directed work among the population to inform about the side effects of psychotropic substances and their destructive impact on human life. The fight and treatment of drug addiction is certainly an important task, but the basis of public policy should be preventive propaganda that will prevent the spread of drug addiction.

Rehabilitation methods

Prevention of drug addiction also includes the rehabilitation of addicted people. In our Sniper addiction center, every person who has undergone a special course of treatment receives psychological and physiological rehabilitation from drugs, which helps to speed up his return to normal life.

After such a rehabilitation course, the patient should obtain psychological freedom from drugs and free his head from thoughts about the next dose. An addicted person often has a subtle nature and it is extremely difficult for him to deal with his problem on his own. It is for this reason that it is important for him to receive support from relatives and friends. At the next stage, the principles of a healthy lifestyle and alternatives to his addiction are explained to the patient.

In addition to the usual drug therapy methods, patients receive universal psychological assistance aimed at forming an idea of ​​a future drug-free life. Often religion or the emergence of new vital interests helps in this.

It is possible to overcome drug addiction only by forcibly returning a person to a normal social environment. At the same time, such a patient should be protected as much as possible from contacts with his familiar drug addicts, which will help to exclude the possibility of a relapse of his disease.

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