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Article on Addiction – By Dr. Anil Awachat

Introduction
Drug addiction is no longer purely a Western phenomenon. Industrialization of economy, influence of Western culture, weakening of geographical barriers, rapid urbanisation and other socio–cultural factors have resulted in drug addiction spreading its tentacles in the country. The problem has become deep rooted and alarming especially in urban areas. Addiction to hard drugs, especially among adolescants is a new development. Unless everybody joins the movement against addiction, this will lead to disaster.

What is drug abuse?
It is the excessive use of legitimate mood altering substances, and the use of prohibited drugs or alcohol. Alcohol is also a drug. Addiction is the extreme end of a continuum that starts with the first use of drugs, and progresses through experimentation and abuse to addiction. It manifests itself in seemingly innocuous form too. The pressured executive or the harried housewife restoring to sleeping tablets, and people unable to cope with sleep related problem is also a serious matter. Thousands of middle class, upper middle class and richer strata of the society are ignorant of this addiction of theirs. This sort of addiction is also to be tackled by the society.

Some Misconcepts
Old thinking that a person was addicted to a drug if he/she required the drug daily, or if he/she went through withdrawal symptoms such as vomiting, seizures, cramps or death when the use of drug or the substance is abruptly stopped, is not correct. It is also not true that the addiction problem of the unemployed, poor, and slum dwellers. Many addicted persons do not loose drugs daily, nor do they experience withdrawal symptoms. Another misconception was that the physical and is physiological addictions were independent. Physical addiction was thought to be determining factor and little attention was given to physiological addictions. To illustrate , many people believe that ganja (marijuana) was not dangerous substance because its effects was physicological changes. Addiction is a disease and not merely physical or psychological dependency.

Characteristics of addiction
There are three characteristics of addiction. These are:

Loss of control
The user cannot predict what will happen when he/she uses the substance. One day an addict may be able to stop after one drink, or after one line of brown sugar (an adulterated form of heroin), the next day he/she may not be able to control his/her use at all.
Compulsive preoccupation
The addict spends a great deal of time thinking about the substance.
Compulsive use despite negative consequences
If drug use causes problems but still person continues to do it, he/she is tempting addiction or is already addicted. The person has lost voluntary control of the use of that substance.

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