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Expert: Painkillers top list of prescription drug abuse

Painkillers top the list of prescription drug abuse in the UAE especially among youngsters, a trend that is more reported than that of alcohol, heroin and THC or marijuana abuse alone, according to a senior health expert.

Cannabis is the only illicit drug that is widely abused worldwide, said Dr Ali Al Marzouqi, Director of Surveillance at the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in Abu Dhabi.

Since 2009, there has been a drastic increase in reporting of prescription painkillers such as tramadol, methadone, codeine, sedatives such as xanax and valium and other psychoactive polysubstance abuse such as kemadrine, artane and khat in the country. Nearly 23 per cent of admissions in hospital emergencies worldwide are related to prescription abuse. “We are no different from the world ... and though we have limited data, this is a serious problem,” said Dr Marzouqi.

Until October, 964 patients who were referred or volunteered to be treated at NRC abused prescription drugs. “These figures roughly add up to two thirds of patients being treated at NRC,” he said.

According to the expert, an easy availability of prescription drugs was the main reason behind the increased usage. “Patients go ‘doctor-shopping’ and get doctors to sell these drugs to them much cheaper and without presenting a prescription.”

Online pharmacies, social acceptance, aggressive marketing and lack of education among physicians/pharmacists are also factors that have led to an increase.

Youngsters make up the highest percentage of users. “In most cases that were reported, the users were between 18 and 29 years old, explained Dr Marzouqi, adding that these were the most vulnerable groups. “By 13, kids have had their first non-prescribed sedatives and stimulants ... and by 17, they will have tried other drugs.”

“Many kids also get the drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinets, friends or relatives for free,” he added.Females too, are at risk. “Women have a higher usage of drugs because they have more anxiety attacks, mood swings and depression.”

Since data from the centre shows increasing trends in prescription drug abuse among younger groups, the expert called for the setting up of a surveillance system to monitor prescription of controlled drugs in the UAE.

NRC, a major treatment centre in the UAE, treats patients with substance use disorders. The patients are either admitted involuntarily through police or court orders or voluntarily. A total of 590 patients were assessed for a study that shed light on patient demographics and substance abuse profile in the country. The patients, all male, were admitted to the centre between 2002 and 2011.

“We found that the main drugs of abuse were alcohol, prescription drugs and heroin,” said Tarek Gawad from the centre.

Alcohol users were 41 per cent, prescription drugs at 19.8 per cent and heroin at 16.3 per cent. “The number of admissions has steadily increased over the years with a sharp increase since 2009,” he said, adding this was accompanied by a drastic increase in prescription, psychoactive and polysubstance addiction especially among youngsters compared to alcohol and/or heroin alone.

“These statistics will necessitate expansion of services to meet increasing demands as well as increasing efforts towards nationwide effective prevention and public awareness approaches,” said Gawad.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com