Dubai: More than 400 people, including a child aged 10, who were addicted to drugs have been rehabilitated at the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehab in Dubai in the last 17 months, an official said.
Dr Abdul Qader Al Khayyat, chairman of the Erada Centre, said 70 per cent of addicts who went through the drug rehab programme were aged between 18 and 29 years.
“Since the launch of the centre, we have welcomed 484 people, including girls between 17 and 24 years. Some of them had started abusing drugs before that, which means drug addiction started at a young age among them. We had one case of a 10-year-old child who was addicted to drugs,” Dr Al Khayyat said. He made these remarks as part of a Dubai Police event marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26).
Dr Al Khayyat said there has been an increase in drug addiction globally with higher demand for illegal painkillers and produced substances.
“There is negligence from parents in monitoring their children from the age of 10 to 18. Some families think the children of this age have to have freedom and can handle the responsibility but children should be guided by parents on the right path.”
Dr Al Khayyat said one of the solutions to the malady is having precautionary programmes in schools for students, and he called for a special section in schools to monitor minors and teenagers.
“We should have legislation to allow monitoring of teenagers by experts, not only for drug addiction but also for reckless driving, and guide them. Violent behaviours shouldn’t be handled only by police forces,” he added.
Case study
A man in his 20s had been at Erada Centre for two months and was totally cured. Three days after he left the centre, he came back because he had fallen into addiction again.
“We were surprised when he came back after three days, asking us to cure him again. We found out that his family left on a vacation without taking him along with them when he returned to the house. So he contacted his friend and started consuming drugs again,” Dr Al Khayyat said.
He stressed that bad friends are a major factor in drug addiction, especially at teenage parties and gatherings.
