Focusing on young people is the best approach since recent research confirms that preventing substance abuse before it begins is the most cost-effective way to reduce addiction and its consequences. In other countries it has been proven that money invested in school-based substance use prevention programmes has saved on the huge costs related to substance use disorders later on.
Concerned over a recent survey on substance abuse and addiction, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan has been talking about formulating a national alcohol policy. However, if it is, as he announced on Wednesday, that the primary focus will be on reviewing advertising and marketing of alcoholic beverages to the public, that will not be sufficient.Anecdotal evidence suggests that abuse of alcohol and other substances costs this country billions of dollars annually in lost productivity, healthcare and criminal justice costs. Very likely the human costs are even more astronomical.
Therefore, the more urgent need is for a comprehensive substance abuse policy which addresses a wide range of issues, including prevention and access to treatment, rather than the highly punitive but largely ineffective approaches that are in common use now. The policy should provide for the types of interventions designed to break the cycle of substance use, crime, imprisonment and worse, that have been taking a heavy toll on the country for several years.
Focusing on young people is the best approach since recent research confirms that preventing substance abuse before it begins is the most cost-effective way to reduce addiction and its consequences. In other countries it has been proven that money invested in school-based substance use prevention programmes has saved on the huge costs related to substance use disorders later on.According to Dr Khan, the planned policy will be aimed at raising public awareness about the harmful physical, social and psychological consequences of alcohol use or abuse. Hopefully, those initiatives will be developed in conjunction with the National Alcohol and Drug Prevention Programme (Nadapp), the agency charged with developing policies and programmes for reduction of legal and illegal drug abuse.
Nadapp is already involved in educating the public about the health and social ills resulting from substance abuse through dissemination of information, school, community and workplace prevention; treatment and rehabilitation; research and ongoing co-operation and collaboration with various regional and international agencies.Therefore, the focus should be on upgrading, improving and expanding on already existing initiatives to come up with an effective, multi-faceted 21st century approach to treating with abuse of alcohol and other addictive substances.
Beyond marketing and advertising of alcohol, a national policy must include updating laws on the use, possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol; ensuring timely dissemination of relevant, up-to-date information regarding health risks; more widespread access to counselling, treatment and rehabilitation; campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent addictive disorders from taking hold. One of the biggest challenges will be breaking the long-established trend where substance abuse is allowed to develop into a serious disorder before treatment is made available.
The other big challenge will be to ensure that the national policy is rooted in solid scientific research so that evidence-based prevention programmes can be developed.This is no small undertaking, so adequate financial, human and other resources must be provided to ensure that this proposed policy, like so many others developed in the past, does not end up forgotten and gathering dust somewhere in a government ministry office.