1 March - International Day against Drug Abuse

In Belarus, the situation with drug abuse and drug trafficking is one of the most relevant for health, and for society as a whole. After drug addiction - is, primarily, overwhelmingly defeated person, accompanied by physical complications, mental health, and sometimes, and disease, resulting in death. Drug addiction causes a number of health and social consequences, there is a low percentage of employment, High-frequency unethical behaviors and convictions, violation of family ties, an increased risk of suicide and the high mortality rate of patients with addictions. Addiction, as known, It is at high risk for hepatitis, HIV infection and AIDS.

In January-June 2019 year through drug trafficking revealed 438 crimes (growth 7,6%, +31 over the same period 2018 of the year), including article 328 Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus - 416 crimes (growth 10,6%, +40), of them 185 Sales facts or 44,5% of crime, associated with drug trafficking, psychotropic substances, their analogues (growth 8,8%, +15).

Additional indirect evidence of drug use and drug addiction are the following:

– long-sleeved clothes are always, regardless of the weather and environment;

– unnaturally narrow or wide pupils, regardless of lighting;

– detached opinion;

– neryashlevy views, dry hair, swollen hands;

– dark, ruined, "Broken off" teeth as "stubs";

– stooped posture often;

– slurred, "Stretched" it;

– clumsy and slow motion in the absence of breath alcohol;

– irritability, sharpness and irreverence in the answers and questions;

– punctures.

Sometimes, common to all addicts signs are considered "quite normal for adolescent behavior", although it is not so. Namely:

– increasing stealth baby (perhaps, without deterioration of relations with parents), he drops interest in learning or habitual hobbies, Parents will learn about truancy, reduced performance;

– increased financial demands, and the teenager is actively looking for ways to meet them (begin to disappear money and valuables from the house);

– there are new friends or suspicious behavior of the old becomes suspicious;

– mood changes for no apparent reason (very quickly, and often do not correspond to the situation).

For rapid detection of drugs in the body, there is also rapid tests. Their operating principle is based on immunochromatography. Here, the high accuracy of the determination is combined with the simplicity of control analysis results (test strip gives the reaction vessel is lowered in the urine). In addition, the test can be performed in non-laboratory conditions.

If your concerns are finding more and more evidence, you must find the strength to talk to the family man quietly, able to convince him to seek help from professionals.

Psychologist Department of Public Health
Gomel Regional Center for Central Generation and Health
Yulia Kulagina