Amity Business School, Amity University Noida, organized an Expert Talk on Nuances of Drug Addiction, by Dr. Ritu Gupta, Consultant Paediatrician and Adolescent Health Expert, Parent & Teen Coach, Founder Secretary, Adolescent Health Academy, Noida, on the occasion of National Youth Day, to commemorate Swami Vivekanand’s Birth Anniversary. The Talk was organized with an aim to sensitize the youth about the ill effects of substance abuse and create awareness amongst the youth.
Delivering the talk, Dr. Ritu Gupta, averred, “13% of the people involved in drug and substance abuse in India, are below 20 years of age and 74% of substance abuse begins at the age of 17 years or younger and 10.2% initiate use at the age of 11 or younger. Substance Abuse not only affects the addict’s mental and physical health but also causes broken relationships, isolation, behavioural problems, loss of memory and legal problems. The entire family of the drug addict suffers in such cases.”
Citing the main reasons for Substance Abuse, she further added, “Social glorification, peer pressure, pleasure seeking, reducing stress and boredom are some of the main reasons leading to drug addiction. In addition, addiction is also caused by social isolation, traumatic childhood, dysfunctional families, poverty and bullying and 99% of the addictions start at a very early while the brain is still developing, and the person is not able to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad.”
Deliberating upon the ways to prevent drug addiction, Dr. Gupta, stated, “One must learn to say and never give in to peer pressure at any cost. Developing close family ties and healthy habits, limiting use of internet, creating peer support groups and seeking helps from experts are some of the ways to deal with drug addiction which can help the person to some out of addiction. Also, the society should not judge such a person and every person, whether it is a family member, peer group or a teacher, should help the person to overcome drug addiction in every possible way. Developing healthy habits for pleasure such as reading, writing, dancing, playing sports or doing anything which makes a person happy, help in the release of dopamine, naturally and the person does not feel the need to take substance for pleasure.”
Addressing the students, Dr. Sanjeev Bansal, Director, Amity Business School, stated, “We are certain that the talk delivered by Dr. Ritu Gupta will be highly beneficial for the students in providing solutions to the problem of substance abuse, which is highly prevalent amongst the youth these days and lead the youth to a progressive path.”
On this occasion, the students took a pledge to “Say No to Drugs” and stay away from drug addiction. The Session concluded with an interactive Q&A Session, wherein the students asked their questions which were answered by the expert. Also present on the occasion were
Dr. Atul Maheshwari, Dr. Arvind Garg and Dr. Gopal Mehta from Academy of Pediatrics & Adolescent Health Academy along with the faculty and students of Amity.