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Substance abuse and substance use disorder have become a topic of concern for everyone in the nation and across the globe.

A report by the consultative committee to combat drug menace in schools established that about 54.1% of boys in junior high and senior high schools use cannabis. It was also established that 34.3% of girls use shisha in Ghana.

Charles Osei, an addiction specialist from Korle-Bu teaching hospital, speaking at a seminar organized by the level 400 students of the Evaluation Group from the Public Health Nurses' School Korle-Bu on the topic: Drug Abuse (shisha and electronic smoking) among the youth, it's economic and health implications, said the high unemployment rate, general economic situation, peer pressure, curiosity, homeless and streetism attributed to the increasing rate of drug abuse, shisha and cigarette smoking.

According to him, statistics show that more than 2700 boys and 3100 girls smoke cigarettes each day and shisha use is also higher in girls (1.7%) than boys (1.6%) probably due to the misconception that shisha is a safer alternative to cigarettes. Shisha has similar or even worse health risks as smoking-related cancers thus heart and lung disease.

"The number of drug users in Africa is projected to rise in the next decade by as much as 40% because of the demographic peculiarities of the region. The population in Africa is relatively younger; hence the rate of drug abuse is higher among young people than old," he averred.

Tobacco use

Meanwhile, Tobacco-use is the single most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Its use poses a great public health threat to society.

It kills over 8 million people each year. These deaths consist of both direct users, over 7 million and second-hand smokers; about 1.2 million.

Second-hand smokers are persons who do not directly smoke tobacco but are rather exposed to the smoke due to their nearness to persons who are directly smoking.

Data from Global Burden of Disease indicates that 93 men and 39 women die weekly from the use of tobacco while 2,700 boys smoke daily.

The Head of Tobacco and Tobacco Products department at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Jemima Odonkor also speaking at the Seminar said non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke absorb nicotine and other compounds just as smokers do.

"The greater the exposure to second-hand smoke, the greater the level of these harmful compounds in your body" she added.

Global Statistics

Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide, while over 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders, according to the 2021 World Drug Report.

Globally, the number of people using drugs is projected to increase by 11 percent by 2030 because of demographic changes alone; and low-income countries account for the lion's share of this rise.