T&T is ranked third among countries in the Americas for inhalant use, a report on The Drug Problem in the Americas by the Organisation of American States (OAS) says. Speaking at a seminar on the OAS report at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, on Monday, Prof Rhoda Reddock, deputy principal of the UWI, St Augustine Campus, described the figures as “alarming.”
“The highest prevalence of inhalant use was in Brazil, with 14.4 per cent, followed by Jamaica 13.9 per cent and T&T in third place with 13.3 per cent,” she said. Inhalant abuse is the deliberate “huffing” or sniffing of common, legal products, easily accessible in homes and the workplace, with the purpose of “getting high,” according to the advocacy group Inhalant Abuse Prevention.
Inhalants are addictive and are considered to be “gateway” drugs because users progress from inhalants to illegal drug and alcohol abuse, the group’s Web site states. The report, commissioned by the heads of government at the Sixth Summit of the Americas in 2012 in Colombia, said inhalants were among substances used among highschool students.
The aim of the study was to help governments in the Americas establish a frame of reference to deal with the drug problem in their countries and to guide future multilateral policies and actions. Commenting on the findings of the report, Reddock said a lack of educational opportunities was one of the main causes of the drug problem in the Americas. “What particularly stood out to me in this report was the fact that among the social reasons for drug use within the Americas was the lack of education and opportunities.”
“We must accept our responsibility to deepen our commitment to education at all levels in this region,” she added. She said that did not mean more years of education, but “a commitment to greater depth, breadth, and an enhanced quality of education that allows our community and its people to have a clearer understanding of addiction and the consequences of drug use.”