This week we’re hearing all kinds of reports about addiction in places and populations where we wouldn’t usually think to look for it. If you find yourself thinking that drug addiction is limited to undisciplined American kids, check out these stories:
This tale of drug abuse — a 24-year-old addicted to Tramadol to escape his anxieties about trying to find a job in today’s terrible economy — sounds like it could have happened in New York or Detroit. It’s actually a typical story from the Gaza Strip.
This story about how alcoholism often goes undetected in the elderly is written from Chennai, in India, but it definitely applicable to other countries, including the U.S.
This story shows the level of attention being generated by ‘Quit Smoking with Barca’, a campaign focused on the internationally-known Spanish football team (or soccer, for our American readers). Their efforts to get Europeans to quit smoking seem to be gaining steam (if you’ll pardon the pun).
And on the flipside, here’s a parent expressing concern over the fact that nobody seems particularly worried about addiction in its most common demographic, teens and young adults. It seems we don’t look for some of our most common problems. (A Michigan hospital comments that, when it comes to opiate addiction, their “18-to-25 popluation has exploded”).
And, just to round out the week, here’s an excellent post outlining some of the concerns that states will have to address as they legalize marijuana.