Substance abuse and children

There is a need for a concerted effort to help these kids who are vulnerable on the street. Once they are addicted, they cannot get rid of the habit on their own and they need intervention

Substance abuse in general and glue sniffing in particular has reached alarming levels among Bangladeshi street children. The phenomenon is not limited to the capital or the big metropolises but has become common in the smaller towns as well. The problem is getting worse as more and more poor parents with large families are unable to make ends meet and their children end up in the streets and get addicted. Severe urban poverty, rising costs of living and few job opportunities for the poor are leading the growing number of street children to addiction.

They use to avoid hunger, thirst and the frustration of living on the streets without parental supervision and love. One of the reasons that glue sniffing has become so widespread among children or adolescents is that the substance is readily available and inexpensive. Glue sniffing induces a state of hallucination not unlike an inebriated condition, and is marked by incoherent speech, the inability to maintain balance and to discern things clearly.  The fumes also have a degenerative effect on the nasal cavity and lining, resulting in discomfort while breathing. Other effects are chronic respiratory problems like bronchitis, skin rashes, loss of weight, unstable temperament and reduced levels of concentration.

There is a need for a concerted effort to help these kids who are vulnerable on the street. Once they are addicted, they cannot get rid off the habit on their own and they need intervention, which usually is absent as they have no parents or guardians to care for them. These kids have had devastated lives in their childhood. They are hardly aware of the damage that glue sniffing can do. Glue-sniffing children are common sights in streets and thoroughfares. But, neither the police nor the NGOs are supposed to be working for such children come to their succour. Street or slum children are regularly seen getting high on street corners in many localities but the police and organisations working in the field prefer to look the other way.

It should also be admitted that rehabilitation of these addicts is not easy as these children tend to be strongly independent and rebel against control. Reforming these children is quite challenging and involves social constraints that they are not used to. Nevertheless the onus of tackling the problem lies with the social welfare department and apparently it is not doing enough. It is their responsibility to rescue these children from the streets and manage the problem of substance abuse among adolescents and children. It is time that the department does some actual social welfare rather than remains busy with their officials’ personal welfare.  

 

Substance abuse and children

There is a need for a concerted effort to help these kids who are vulnerable on the street. Once they are addicted, they cannot get rid of the habit on their own and they need intervention

Substance abuse in general and glue sniffing in particular has reached alarming levels among Bangladeshi street children. The phenomenon is not limited to the capital or the big metropolises but has become common in the smaller towns as well. The problem is getting worse as more and more poor parents with large families are unable to make ends meet and their children end up in the streets and get addicted. Severe urban poverty, rising costs of living and few job opportunities for the poor are leading the growing number of street children to addiction. They use to avoid hunger, thirst and the frustration of living on the streets without parental supervision and love. One of the reasons that glue sniffing has become so widespread among children or adolescents is that the substance is readily available and inexpensive. Glue sniffing induces a state of hallucination not unlike an inebriated condition, and is marked by incoherent speech, the inability to maintain balance and to discern things clearly. The fumes also have a degenerative effect on the nasal cavity and lining, resulting in discomfort while breathing. Other effects are chronic respiratory problems like bronchitis, skin rashes, loss of weight, unstable temperament and reduced levels of concentration. There is a need for a concerted effort to help these kids who are vulnerable on the street. Once they are addicted, they cannot get rid off the habit on their own and they need intervention, which usually is absent as they have no parents or guardians to care for them. These kids have had devastated lives in their childhood. They are hardly aware of the damage that glue sniffing can do. Glue-sniffing children are common sights in streets and thoroughfares. But, neither the police nor the NGOs are supposed to be working for such children come to their succour. Street or slum children are regularly seen getting high on street corners in many localities but the police and organisations working in the field prefer to look the other way. It should also be admitted that rehabilitation of these addicts is not easy as these children tend to be strongly independent and rebel against control. Reforming these children is quite challenging and involves social constraints that they are not used to. Nevertheless the onus of tackling the problem lies with the social welfare department and apparently it is not doing enough. It is their responsibility to rescue these children from the streets and manage the problem of substance abuse among adolescents and children. It is time that the department does some actual social welfare rather than remains busy with their officials personal welfare.