Drug use continues to increase in recent years despite the many measures taken. Noting that children meet drugs at a much earlier age than in the past, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan made important warnings to families. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noyan pointed out that families learned that their children started using drugs after about 2 years and gave important information about the situations that parents should pay attention to.
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Since 1987, every year June 26 has been commemorated as the "International Day for Combating Drug Abuse and Trafficking" in order to achieve the goal of a healthy society and strengthen international cooperation.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan gave important warnings to families about the measures that can be taken against drug use and addiction.
Children are introduced to drugs at a very early age
"We can say 'the age of drug use has decreased to 14, 10, 9'; but we know this very clearly now; children meet drugs at a much earlier age than in the past years," said Assoc. Prof. Onur Noyan,
"They test themselves somehow, either through the media, seeing them in their surroundings or through trial and error. The early age of drugs is actually not of great importance for us," he said.
"We need to develop the ability to say 'No' in our children"
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan said, "The much bigger problem here is that during adolescence, all adolescents will see the substance in some way; but we need to develop the ability to say 'No' in our children until adolescence."
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"We need to accurately teach children and adolescents that these are harmful substances and that they may face a troublesome process if they use drugs. Beyond lowering the age of drug use, we need to make it easier to take preventive measures that can prevent substance use in the long term.
Families learn the truth after 2 years!
Studies show that families learn that their children start using drugs after about 2 years. This is a very serious and very long time. By the time families find out, it is too late. We see that all the measures that can be taken, all the help that can be provided are far behind. In this context, if families are wondering how to suspect that their children are using substances, they should draw attention to a few issues.
In which situations should parents be suspicious?
-If their children, with whom they are always in contact, start to deviate from their usual behavior,
-If he started to shut himself up more at home, in his room,
-If a child who does not lock the door to his room starts locking the door to his room,
-Started coming and going late at night, without the family's knowledge, and started taking money from home without the family's knowledge,
-If his/her grades went from good to bad all of a sudden,
-If family relations were good and then suddenly deteriorated,
-The child has withdrawn from his/her friends, withdrawn into himself/herself, started to exhibit different behaviors; sudden irritability, sudden anger, swollen eyes at home, red eyes, etc. If some physical and bodily changes have also started to be observed, families should suspect something at this point.
Establish a healthy communication with the child
Parents should be able to discuss their concerns and worries very openly with their children when they are suspicious. If we are not able to talk about substances and substance-related issues with our children in a very comfortable way, it will remain a taboo in the family, and the things that remain taboo will continue to be done in secret in a way that no one will notice. But the important thing is for families to communicate with their children in a healthy way, to be careful about some of the leading symptoms and when they occur, to share their inner thoughts with their children in an appropriate and healthy language without hesitation."
"We have to produce the right health policies"
Pointing out that it is still very easy to access drugs, Onur Noyan said:
"This is very important; the easier it is to access a substance, the higher the addiction and use of that substance. The results we come across in the studies are always as follows; the easier an individual thinks it is to access a substance, the more he/she contacts that substance and the more he/she uses that substance. The most important problem here is that the widespread perception that substances are accessible unfortunately increases the likelihood of young people, adults and all individuals using the substance more. Yes, many measures are being taken, many legal regulations are being made, but we still have an obligation to provide healthy and accurate information about substances. We still have to produce the right health policies about what substances do to children, adolescents and adults."
"We have to reverse the perception that substances are accessible"
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur Noyan concluded his words as follows:
"We know that every individual knows that the substance is harmful in some way. But we need to inform more about what harm the substance has done and will do over a long period of time. We have to reverse the perception that substances are accessible. Our biggest problem is actually adolescents' perception that substances are easily accessible. In this regard, they have curiosity or thoughts about the fact that drugs are free in many countries. But when we evaluate it as a reality, we know that in many other countries the use and sale of drugs is not legal, but the perception in the society is that it is legal."
