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UAE has a low drug abuse relapse rate

ABU DHABI — The UAE has a substance abuse relapse rate of only 20 per cent, lower than anywhere else in the world, according to the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC).

“For the years 2010/2011, the percentage of NRC’s patients admitted more than one time in a year was only 20 per cent. This relapse rate is considered lower than that in some centres that provide comprehensive addiction treatment in the US and Europe, and is in line with international standards and best practices,” said a NRC statement on Tuesday. This figure was disclosed by NRC during the Thematic Conference on Addiction Psychiatry (TCAP) in Tarragona, Spain, where it also hosted a workshop on the addiction trend in the UAE and the centre’s treatment approaches.

The conference was a major event for leading institutions from around the world to discuss the best models of psychiatric therapy for addiction and to debate the latest approaches adopted in different countries. Speaking to Khaleej Times previously, Hamad Al Ghaferi, NRC’s Director-General, said that majority of their patients have problems with abusing drugs and alcohol.

“Nowadays, we see patients with poly-substance whereby, they are mixing more than one type of drugs for the (heightened) effect,” he said, adding that the main causes of substance abuse are due to peer pressure, influence of a role model, the desire to try new things and family problems. On reintegrating an addict back to the society, the UAE through the centre, has a success rate that exceeds that of the international rate, according to Dr Al Ghaferi. — olivia@khaleejtimes.com