Substance abuse: Do we wait another five years for another death?

Dubai: Five years ago a 16-year-old boy fell victim to the dark world of solvent abuse, dying after an overdose of butane.

Late last month, 16-year-old Anton Tahmasian inhaled butane at a graduation party and died instantly.

In the days following the heart-rending loss of Anton, Gulf News has been talking to both teenagers and parents to try and find out what they think the solution is. They agree that teen solvent abuse in Dubai could be avoided if there was more awareness.

"My feeling is that it could have been any of us who lost a child. Anton Tahmasian was just a normal kid, who made a wrong decision" says Jane Drury, managing director of ExpatWoman.com, also stressing that maintaining open communication with your children is important. The need for more communication and consequently greater awareness seems to be a shared sentiment among both parents and, perhaps surprisingly, teenagers.

Dubai teenagers say that everyone has been affected by the tragic death of Anton. Adolescents abusing solvents, whether by inhaling butane or deodorant fumes, told Gulf News they have "stopped completely" as a result. This scenario is just a repeat of a case that occurred five years ago when another 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named died of butane abuse. At the time, the death was reported, but any details of the causes were left unmentioned, while those surrounding the situation were more than aware of what had really happened.

Sean Muir, now a 20-year-old university student, was a friend of the 16-year-old at the time, and comes forward today, with a distinct tone of antipathy and remorse.

"Butane is a ridiculous and dangerous recreational drug that many teenagers indulged in. Despite the seemingly obvious risks of solvent abuse it took the death of another to stop teenagers from endangering their lives to get high," Sean says. "This shocking revelation forces us to ask ourselves if it is just a case of waiting another five years before witnessing yet another death."

Fatal impact

Those, who were involved in the abuse of solvents five years ago, will tell you that the main reason the tragedy was such a shock and, therefore, really hit home was because they had no idea of the potentially fatal impact of their actions prior to the loss of a friend. Teenagers today are saying exactly the same thing. But why don't they know?

"Should it not be the duty of parents and teachers to make us aware of these things? Maybe this recent tragedy should act a lesson to adolescents and parents alike," says a 15-year-old girl, who wishes to remain anonymous. Teenagers, especially given recent events, are crying out for more knowledge of the effects of such substances.

"Some of us feel that due to the zero tolerance policies towards drug abuse, experimenting with any kind of intoxicating substances is an awkward thing to discuss both at school and at home", says a 15-year-old student.

Parents also say the best way to tackle this issue is by increasing awareness. They suggest there is a need to learn to trust in and respect the, often well hidden or ignored, capacity for maturity and understanding teenagers have.

"Children need to be made more aware… We need to be more honest and open about the existence and, indeed, dangers of these substances" said Kim Thompson, mother of one.

Walk the talk

This is a point, Dr Naresh Kumar Dhar, a Dubai-based psychiatrist at the Prime Medical Centre in Jumeirah, was more than ready to emphasise. He indicates that parents need to adopt a "practice what you preach" approach to their relationships with their children and advocate a mutual respect and honesty. Teenagers feel unappreciated or detached from their parents' "adult lives" and there is sometimes little for them to do here due to the weather and lack of affordable facilities.

"These factors when combined with the incredible pressure for [academic] results put on them at school these days can actually be the cause of such abuse of alcohol and solvents," Dr Dhar tells Gulf News.

This is not to say that the situation in Dubai is any worse than in other places. Solvent abuse is a worldwide problem with, for example, 85 deaths per year in Northern Ireland, 52 per cent of these cases involving under-16s (chosen because it has the same population as Dubai). In spite of this, after hearing the news of Anton's death, Dubai parents are admittedly panicked, causing them to feel like these incidents are more prevalent in Dubai.

Recent reports on the matter have only contributed to this atmosphere of fear and alarm, suggesting that all teenagers in Dubai are out abusing alcohol and solvents and taking part in acts of a sexual nature while under the influence. As a result, both teenagers and parents have reported, parents are now forbidding their teenagers from socialising altogether for fear of them partaking in such illegal and harmful activities.

A hard-line, zero tolerance parental approach "will lead to teenagers trying to rebel against you and, perhaps, even sneaking out" says Thompson.

"It needs to be acknowledged that the more restrictions there are, the more problems there will be" Dr Dhar states.

And, while it is not a guarantee that solvent abuse will never happen again, the best and only way to attempt to stop teenagers from using dangerous substances to get "high" or "buzzed" is to educate them.

Police: Boosting confidence and interaction vital

Building confidence — with parents, school counsellors, and community members interacting with troubled youngsters could be more useful than reporting them to the police, said a senior police official.

"The names of the drug addicts receiving treatment or counselling is kept confidential as it is an integral part of their rehabilitation", said Lieutenant Colonel Yousuf Al Adeedi, director of administration services at the General Department of Combating Narcotics, Dubai Police.

"Doctors or counsellors have the responsibility of treating drug and substance addicts and abusers in absolute confidentiality. Gaining an addict's trust is important in the course of the treatment."

"Addicts might sometimes relapse and some doctors provide the addicts the chance to recover again. If the case is repeated doctors are advised to report the matter to us and it will remain confidential," said Lt Col Al Adeedi.

Specialists cannot always predict their patients' behaviour.

"We can't criminalise them if the patient dies of an overdose or commits any other crime. However, we do include them in our investigations to ensure they didn't abuse their positions for financial gain, which we have encountered in the course of our investigations," said Lt Col Al Adeedi.

According to him, abusing solvents like butane is not common in the UAE.

—  Siham Al Najami ,Staff Reporter

Why do you think teenagers turn to substance abuse? What can parents do to protect them?