HYDERABAD: Not just high liquor consumption, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also among states with a very high percentage of sedative users in the county, a survey on drug addiction by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment has revealed.
The two Telugu states together have 3.1% of the population using sedatives. While AP has 1.79% for a total of 6.74 lakh sedative users, Telangana has 1.31% (3.48 lakh) such addicts.
The mammoth survey, done on 18-75 years age group, found that about 1.21% of India’s population was addicted to sedatives.
Punjab has the highest percentage of population addicted to sedatives at 4.61%, followed by Haryana at 3.05% and Delhi at 3.19%. Among southern states, the use was less than Telangana and AP with Tamil Nadu at 0.32%, Karnataka at 0.51% and Kerala 0.53%.
While sedatives are mostly used for medical purposes, sleeping tablets can become an addiction, say doctors.
“In psychiatric problems, mostly sedatives are given to calm the patients. Some might indulge in using sleep sedatives excessively, while those in medical field also use other medical sedatives. Availability of some of these sedatives are made difficult due to there misuse,” Dr Kiran Madala, head of department of anaesthesia, government general hospital (GGH), Nizamabad, told TOI.
Excessive usage of sedative leads to liver and kidney damage in some people, he warned.
Experts also warn of drug addiction disturbing family and personal life. “Most people turn to different types of drug consumption for anxiety and stress for different reasons. If this problem is taken care of either by counselling or proper medical help, anyone can come out of it,” Dr C Veerender, a psychologist, said.
