ARE YOU AN ADDICT?

Many people believe that Addiction is a term that used to describe
the state of those who are addicted to drugs such as heroin, alcohol,
cocaine. However, World Health Organization defines addiction as
"using a substance repeatedly, despite knowing and experiencing its
harmful effects. The person using the substance cannot control the
urge to use it and needs increasing amounts to achieve the effect he
craves for. On abruptly stopping use of the substance the person can
experience withdrawal effects like watering of nose and eyes,
vomiting, diarrhea, sleep disturbances, aches and pains and epileptic fits"

Dr. Abdulrahamn Salam, neurologist, gave a similar definition when he
said" when a person is used to take stuff and after awhile he can not
get along without these stuff, feeling the need to increase doses to
reach a satisfied state quickly. That person becomes addicted person"

"Giving up using those stuff, the addicted undergoes withdrawal
effects, such as blood pressure, headache, shaking, epileptic fits,
which lead to death sometimes" he added.

Dr. Abdullah Bakhash, psychiatrist, gave other close definition of
addiction when he said "addiction is a habitual repetition of
excessive behaviour that a person is unable or unwilling to stop,
despite its harmful consequences."

Dr. Bakhash insisted that many people may misunderstand the term
addiction. "Mostly they believe that the addicted person is that who
take Heroin, cocaine ...etc, nevertheless it is rarely to find drug
addicted people in the specialized hospitals or clinics.," he added.

According to Dr. Bakhash many patients refuse to confess that they
are drugs addicts, feeling shame and guilt prevents them from
consulting the doctors. "Those who are rich may prefer to go abroad
and stay in a centres where is specialized in treating addiction" he said.

Talking about the psychological and physical effects of addiction,
Dr. Salam said that not everyone who becomes addicted has the same
experience. However, there are certain psychological symptoms that
most addicted people suffer sooner or later, either all at once or in
clusters. People may begin to look for treatment when such
psychological symptoms start to become severe. They may become severe
because of the growing impact of the addiction's harmful consequences
in their lives. "Addiction tends to be so consuming that it affects
an addict's thoughts, their feelings and behaviour" he said.

For instance, an addict may avoid people. This leads to a feeling of
isolation. He may also feel ashamed of feeling unable to cope with
others , and of the addiction that's causing this. To deal with the
feeling, he takes more of the drug. His relationship with the drug
excludes people, so people avoid him. The result is an increased
isolation - a vicious circle

Dr. Shehab Mohammed Salam, psychiatrist, said that addictive stuff
are often referred to as mood-altering. People take them because they
change their mood in the short term. However, there can be a
long-term effect from continuing to use drugs for this purpose.
Addicted people often report an increase in the feeling they were
attempting to escape, such as:

- -depression: ranges from feeling very down and helpless to suicidal

- -anxiety : ranges from feeling generally fearful to loss of trust and paranoia

- -low self-esteem : may become self-loathing and links to shame and guilt

- -no confidence : a state of mind related to anxiety and depression

- -anger : from touchy and irritated to explosive, often with blaming

- -boredom - the pattern of addiction becomes relentlessly, tediously the same

Forms of addiction in Yemen

Although drug addiction is not an obvious phenomena in Yemen,
according to Dr . Salam and Dr Bakhash , Oat, alcohol, Nicotine,
Solvents, and Tranquilizers are the common a substances that are used
at some people repeatedly.

Qat and addiction

Qat is widely chewed by men, women and now children in Yemen.
According to a study titled " Qat and its variety effects on Yemeni
society" , which conducted by Mr. Ismaeel Almutokel, Qat has
psychological effects, besides its social, and economic effects.
According to Almutokel that the effect of Qat can be divided into
three stages.The first stage is when the chewer feels happiness,
active, ecstasy and exultation optimistic, and has the power to solve
any problems.The second stage is when the chewer feels unconscious

The third stage in when the chewer loses his ability of perception
and memorisation. He undergoes coldness in his limbs, tends to be
quiet, feeling depressed and nervous.

The study referred to the clinic observation on the chewers who
undergo blood pressure that sometimes leads to sudden heart failure.

Another study, titled." The nervous disorder at Qat chewer in Yemeni
environment", conducted by Mohammed Numan, linked between Qat and
psychological diseases that occurred in Yemeni society and prepared
by Mohammed Numan, who claimed that Qat chewers are exposed to
anxiety, depression, phobia, historic, misgiving, and illusion.

Despite the symptoms that the chewers undergo during their chewing,
Qat is not a narcotic stuff, according to the two studies. People who
used to chew Qat are able to give up chewing without suffering any
withdrawal effects. Those who are chewing Qat excessively may undergo
shaking, nightmares, weakness and exhaustion.

Dr. Salam confirmed on the result of the two studies saying that
chewing Qat is a habit not an addiction. "Qat doesn't contain any
narcotic substance that make the chewer an addicted person. as a
proof many people travel abroad, giving up chewing without
experiencing any withdrawal effects" he said. adding that it is not
difficult to give up chewing Qat.

Smoking tobacco and narghile

Abdullrahim Alfaqi, secretary-general of the national society for
fighting smoking stated that 80% of Yemeni males are smokers. The
yearly consume of cigarettes assumed to 120 billion YR. Alfaqi
referred that 85% of Yemeni teenagers smoki. The third of which are
realizing that it is a bad habit and want to give up.

According to the World Health Organization: "Tobacco is the second
major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for
the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each
year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10
million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today
- -that is about 650 million people-will eventually be killed by tobacco."

Dr. Bakhash said that nicotine, which is found in Tobacco, its widely
used for its tranquillising and mildly mood elevating properties.
It's strongly addictive, and its prolonged withdrawal symptoms of
anxiety, mood swings and craving make the habit hard to break.

Nicotine has few adverse effects on physical health. It raises blood
pressure and accelerates the progression of heart and arterial disease

Cancers is more common in smokers, especially those of the lung,
stomach and breast. Heart disease, stroke and serious lung disorders
( such as emphysema) contribute to the huge premature death toll that
smoking accounts for

Narghile ( Known also as water pipe, arghileh, shisha,or hookah)
becomes widespread particularly among the youth.

"The problem is that there is no scientific study reflects the effect
of smoking hookah. In Yemen young people spend time smoking hookah
whether in cafes or houses, they have no idea about the content of
the stuff that are put inside it." Said Dr. Bakhash

Drinks contain alcohol

Dr. Abdullah revealed that there are many cases of alcoholic
addiction in the hospitals and centres, despite that Islam and social
values are forbidding drinking alcohol. "This kind of addiction is
mostly found in males. It is rarely to find alcoholic addiction among
women in Yemen," he said

He warned that many drinks that are sold in Yemeni market contain
alcohol, without mentioning that in the containers of these drinks."
By chance we discovered that some drinks sold in the market and being
marketed as drinks that give the customer power, contain alcohol" he said.

"The proof of this is that many patients that underwent alcoholic
addiction were given medicine that make them refusing any product
contains alcohol. What shocked us was their body reaction when they
drank these drinks. Their bodies refused sush drinks and that simply
because they contain alcohol" he added.

The two main sites of damage of alcohol are the liver and the nervous
system: the liver may become progressively damaged through a
condition known as cirrhosis, which may lead to liver failure, liver
cancer and consequently death. The nervous system may be damaged at
many levels. The intellect can be damaged with anxiety and
depression, confusion and dementia.

The rest of the nervous system can suffer from loss of balance,
impotence, numbness of the feet and hands, tremor and blindness.

Apart from these two major sites of damage, alcoholism is also
implicated in diabetes, inflammation of the pancreas, internal
bleeding, weakening of the heart, high blood pressure and stroke, and
is harmful to developing pregnancies.

In addition, alcohol contributes to innumerable deaths on the road
and vast numbers of accidents in the home and at work. Many of these
accidents are caused by people who aren't necessarily dependent on
alcohol, but are temporarily intoxicated.

Ladies tend to tranquilizers

Dr. Abdullah referred to another type of addiction that is more
common especially in ladies aged 15-45 years old. "young ladies tend
to use these tranquilizers particularly in examination period, trying
to get ride of stress and worry, however gradually they become
addicted" he said

People who underwent operations or pain tend to use such
tranquilizers, according to Dr. Bakhash

He added that the problem leis in the fact many pharmacies sell these
stuffs without legal prescription. "Since there are no instructions
from the doctor, many people abuse using these medicine, and become
addicted" he said.

These stuff do not cause an immediate physical harm, but with
long-term use can lead to a variety of psychiatric problems;
withdrawal may lead to severe anxiety reactions, nightmares, panic
attacks, seizures, hallucinations and other frightening symptoms that
can last many weeks, months or even years.

Solvents in workshops

According to Dr. Bakhash and Dr. Salam many children and teenagers
have been abusing some solvents (which are the vapours found in some
glues and household products) as well as organic gases such as butane
(cigarette lighter gas), for many years. "Those who are working in
carpentry, workshops and fuel stations are subjected to such vapours.
They become addicts to the smell of these vapours intentionally."
said Dr. Bakhash.. Long-term use can be damaging to the lungs and the liver.

Treatment

Dr . Salam said that the treatment is determined according to the
state of the patient, and the stuff he is addicted to. However, he
insisted on the importance of the will of the patient to recover "the
first step to recover from any kind of addiction is that the addicted
person should realize that he or she is an addicted. He or she should
have the will to recover and get ride of addiction" he said.The
second step is to giv the patient medicines that replace narcotic
stuff but do not have withdrawal effects on the patients. At the same
time, the patient should attend rehabilitation sessions in which he
is trained to able him to deal with his new life after he gets over
his addiction.

Drug addiction is not considered a huge problem in Yemen yet,
according to Dr. Abdullah. However any type of addiction must be
taken under consideration. Providing the hospitals with equipments
that enable the doctors to assume the rate of narcotic stuffs, raisin
the awareness of the public of the meaning and types of addiction are
very important measures that must be taken. The Swiss psychiatrist
said "Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic
be alcohol, or morphine or the idealism".