The Hindu : New Delhi News : Medical drugs abuse on the rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Medical drugs abuse on the rise

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 13. The Capital has always had a bad "rogue image" for the number of quacks operating here, but amid the various drives to check their proliferation, here is an abuse that is on the increase in the city.

Medical drugs, claim experts, are increasingly entering the general population with their use being rampant in the city. And topping Delhi's list of the three most abused drugs are Proxyon and Alprax capsules and Tidigesic injection. Also popular among college students is the cough syrup Phyendyl which has a narcotic content.

Categorised as dangerous sedatives and habit-forming drugs, their abuse -- previously noticed among the lower strata of the population -- is now spreading to students and high-income group.

Used more as life-saving drugs for patients after a surgery or for treating people with mental ailments and also used as a painkiller, the abuse of these drugs is rampant because of its low price and easy availability.

"Cheap and easy availability is worrying us and also the fact that the habitat forming drug use is slowly percolating into the general population and even among the younger generation. This is no longer group specific abuse, or even single area abuse where we can pin-point and say that things are not going well. Here we are seeing a situation were people are showing an increased dependence on these drugs and this can be calculated through the large out-going sales record available with us," explained the Assistant Drugs Controller (Delhi), Ravi Kant, while speaking about the most abused drugs in the Capital.

Delhi has as many as 6,000 retailers and 4,000 wholesalers selling drugs and almost of all of them work as easy outlets for people looking for medical formulations for abuse.

The State Drugs Control Department has also managed to identify areas in Delhi where the abuse is maximum.

According to officials, the area in Delhi where maximum abuse is recorded is in the university area, followed by jhuggi jhonpris and janata colonies. And while new drugs haven't been added to the list, the department maintains that the drugs are among the most abused and has remained on the list at the top slot much to the disappointment of officials.

"We constantly maintain a strict watch, carrying out raids and send decoy customers. We have also set in place an intelligence cell that carries out surprise checks all over the city. Keeping a count on the drugs that are been abused is also part of the programme and we are trying to keep a tab on the same with help from the chemists who give us an indication of the trends in the drug market," added Mr. Kant.

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