Dont chew, snort or inject

Child substance abuse is catching pace in India, with a large variety of drugs available at an affordable price

Satyan was only in Class V when he was addicted to cigarettes. Cannabis crept in later before heroin took him hostage. His substance abuse cost him 200 rupees everyday and on occasions even made him steal. His family and neighbors either alienated him or beat him up in an attempt to make him stop the abuse. But all in vain. Satyan was on his way to a place from where there was no coming back

There are quite a few children who walk the same path everyday as Satyan unaware of what would come to be. Studies to investigate the issue of child abuse in India has unraveled some startling facts about certain children and the consequences of their frivolous brushes with some of the most dangerous substances. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) conducted the first nationwide study and based their findings on 4,024 child substance abusers(below 18 years) from 135 sites across India. The findings show the pattern of drug abuse and the eventual battle that wins over these hapless addicts. The most sought after substances are alcohol, inhalants and cannabis with tobacco topping the list due to its availability

Choices and dangers

To measure the affects of abuse on children, a study developed a metric which multiplies the percentage of children from the drug abusing children sample with the mean harm score for each substance. Turns out tobacco affects the largest number of children and poses the greatest risk to child users in India.

There is always a first time

Most children start with tobacco at around 12 years, according to the study. Inhalants follow a little later, depending on how large their circle of co-abusers is. Children start experimenting with alcohol and cannabis at the age of 13 before they lose their paths forever.

Pockets and holes

When asked how they financed their habits, 45.5 per cent of the children using drugs said they made their own money, while 42.5 per cent of them flicked it from their families or borrowed from external sources. If required, these users would take to lying, stealing, selling household items and even begging in order to meet their addiction requirements. These children who mostly earn the money themselves resort to rag-picking, unskilled work, serving at dhabas/restaurants to even street level vending.

The dangers ahead

With lack of healthy recreational activities and no NGOs to their rescue, many children succumb to drug abuse leaving their close ones heartbroken. Others are subject to violence from either the police or their community, both known to be largely intolerant towards these children. Such is the deathly clutch of this addiction that inspite of fearing for their lives, addicts still sniff for the stuff that provides them a temporary calm before dunking them into a deep pit of helplessness again.

Satyan’s battle was no different. He only brought agony and pain to his family members who had unsuccessfully tried to enroll him into vocational skill classes. While even NCPCR has no estimates on how many children like Satyan lose their battle to these substances, studies only help estimating the seriousness of the issue the present generation will have to confront.