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Drug Abuse in South Africa at Alarming Levels

December 3, 2014

The Magnitude of Drug Abuse in South Africa

South Africa is experiencing a rise in drugs abuse. In recent years the trend in alcohol abuse as well as other drugs has been alarming. Alcohol is still the primary drug of abuse and use is rising every day. In 2011 the world health organization (WHO) reported that South Africa has the highest per capita consumption rates in the world of alcohol in the world and it is quite insane that the rate is continuing to rise. In South Africa the citizens consume in excess of 5 billion litres of alcohol annually but this figure is likely to be higher still if sorghum beer is included, and equates to 9 – 10 litres of pure alcohol per person. Despite alcohol being the primary drug of abuse there are other drugs that are used by the South Africans as well. These drugs include Methaqualone (Quaaludes), cocaine, marijuana popularly known as dagga in South Africa, and heroin are all drugs that are becoming increasingly popular in the cities of South Africa.

There have been drastic political changes in  South Africa  that have been accompanied by social transitioning, rapid modernization, high unemployment rates, and a decline in social, cultural, and family values. As a result, drug use has flourished and new environments, such as night clubs, that promote drug use have been created. These environments appear especially promising for adolescents and young adults looking for an escape. It is in these places that drugs look cool and casual sex is acceptable. Unfortunately, these places are a haven for heavy drug abuse and diseases; such as, HIV and AIDS. Needless to mention, South Africa has become a major country involved in international drug trafficking networks over the past decade. Experts have agreed that it is becoming harder and harder to deal with the explosion of the drug trade and it links are becoming increasingly complex to tame.

South Africa

Here are statistics of the most abused drugs in South Africa over the past years. These statistics are from the World Health Organization (WHO). However there might be some changes on the statistics as the use of drugs of abuse in South Africa is increasing at such a rapid rate.

South Africa drugs of abuse stats according to WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that drug consumption in South Africa is twice the world norm. It is saddening to note that 15% of South Africa’s population has a drug problem. The cost associated with drug abuse is crippling the South Africa’s economy. This is evident as the country spends R20-billion a year and could pose a bigger threat to the country’s future than the Aids pandemic. According to SAPS figures, 60 percent of crimes nationally were related to substance abuse, this shows the cost of drugs of abuse in relation to the social ills they cause. Just as it happens everywhere, addicts will go through all odds to afford the drugs they have become dependent on and crime is the immediate step the youths take to buy their daily dosage of these drugs. In the Western Cape, the figure was closer to 80 percent that shows that Western Cape is the most affected area.  The perpetrators of these crimes are either under the influence of substances, or trying to secure money for their next fix. The use of drugs has also increased prostitution as most of the prostitutes have to sleep with 10-15 men daily to find enough money to buy their drugs of abuse.

 SANAB disbanded

The use of drugs and related crimes have increased greatly, by 30% to be exact after the government disbanded   SA Narcotics Bureau (SANAB) which was  a dedicated drug-fighting unit within the SAPS that had achieved some notable successes. The SANAB was disbanded in 2004 and no other body has sprung to fill the vacuum.

Recently the United Nations World Drug Report had named South Africa as one of the drug capitals of the world. The abuse of alcohol and usage of dagga has led to the country to being one of the top ten narcotics and alcohol abusers in the world. The CDA also reports that one Rand in four in circulation in South Africa is linked to the substance abuse problem. CDA is a drug control organization. The increase in drugs use is also evident in the increase of number of drug arrests from a mere 300 in 2006 to a staggering 1500 in 2012 in Cape Town.

Teenagers are not left out

The CDA reports that alcohol use is common in school kids and most kids who are involved in alcohol abuse are involved in violent crimes 3 times more than kids that are not involved in drug abuse.

South Africa

It also points at the increase in drug use among teens.  As from 1992 – 95 the use of drugs among teenagers increased by 600%. But the figure is still increasing as evident in 2007 when it stood 1100%.  Most kids begin using drugs of abuse at the age of twelve, the CDA report of 2009 revealed that schools have become a target for drug dealers.

A part from alcohol drugs that are widely abused in SA include;

Methamphetamine (Tik)

  • Crack
  • Heroine
  • Cocaine
  • Mandrax
  • Dagga
  • Ecstasy

Finally, We at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts by availing some of the most integrative approaches to healing an addict. We advocate for natural healing to all kinds of addiction. Call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

The Magnitude of Drug Abuse in South Africa

 

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Neuroendocrine Restoration Will Lead You Out Of Addiction

June 28, 2014

The process of developing an addiction usually follows a pattern, regardless of the activity you become addicted to. There is a common misconception that has likely reified the concept into a simplistic definition; one that is inclined towards substance. Addiction does not necessarily have to deal with a substance. You can develop an addiction to eating, talking, masturbating, just the same way you get addicted to cigarette or bhang smoking.

At early stages the process is usually subtle and mostly subconscious. For the case of drugs, almost all addicts will have succinct picture of how they started; usually a few hurried gulps of the father’s favorite ‘long neck’ caring not to be seen; a bottle of Smirnoff which got them really high and chattering through the party; a stick of marijuana from a willing friend or a cigarette that appeared irresistible given the way a certain fatherly figure seemed to have felt heavenly while smoking it.

This would be followed by a series of like behavior occasioned by similar chances. The person usually repeats the action a number of times over a given period of time and cannot clearly tell the point when they could no longer back off this act.

Neurondocrine Restoration

Why can a person not simply stop the act as soon as they realize it has blown out of proportion? Why do they continue the act against their own will? Why does the process of rehabilitation from drug addiction so delicate that it can be fatal if not properly monitored?

Understanding the mechanism of addiction

The start of addiction is always a voluntary step. Your father smokes, you notice and become curious. You steal and smoke it.

You attend a party, people are all drinking and you are invited to have a taste; it tastes sweet (because it is Namaqua). You drain a glass, and wish it was a few inches deeper, just before you begin speaking louder and more than the music system.

You are just about to make the final turn to the hostel washrooms, when your nose picks a familiar smell. You decide to give a hand shake to the group of comrades involved in a hushed discussion a few meters away; they offer you a stick of bhang, which you accept ‘because you are a man’

You like the experience. So you get bored and feel like doing something different; you want a little adventure so you go for the drug you just tasted a few days back. Remember in each of these cases you could opt to refuse, but you just decided; why not?

Soon you decide to repeat the practice, because you are stressed and a friend said this usually work for them, or merely because you are tuned to it after having liked the experience. You do not notice it, but at this juncture your brain is releasing the happiness hormones like endorphins that stimulate the excitement.

This act becomes the triggering activity for the release of the hormones. Your body starts to relate the triggering activity to the sensation that it will cause as a cause-effect relationship. This begins to condition your body to an addiction.

You are welcoming a new habit; the condition now triggers a biochemical process in your body whose subsequent repetition soon gets your system conditioned to releasing the hormones.

Recovery from Addiction

addiction recoveryYou completely destroy a plant only when you dig its roots. Repetition of an activity gets entrenched as a condition in your system; a system controlled by a central engine in your body called neuroendocrine system.

The neuroendocrine system is the combination of interaction and interplay of the endocrine and the nervous system; the central nervous system.

Our bodies are made up of cells. And cells are components of the network of glands known as the neuroendocrine system that controls the internal state of balance in the body.

Therefore, when the body has been conditioned to react in a certain way, the neuroendocrine system becomes programmed to direct that certain response as a way of life. Getting out of an addiction therefore means deprogramming your body; which simply is reconditioning your hormonal responses.

Every hormonal response is controlled by the neuroendocrine system. For one to fully recover from an addiction therefore, their neuroendocrine system must be reconditioned to direct the normal response.

Dr. Dalal Akoury

Medical Doctor Dalal A Akoury is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist based in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach. She has a vast experience in medicine having served as a medical practitioner for thirty six years after receiving her medical degree from the University of Alexandria, Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Dalal Akoury currently runs a medical facility Awaremed Health and Wellness Resource Centre located in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. This medical facility is the brainchild of the doctor.

Neuroendocrine Restoration Will Lead You Out Of Addiction

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Stress and Addiction: Where’s the connection?

June 28, 2014

Relationship between Stress and Addiction

Addiction and stressDid you know that excessive stress could lead one to addiction? What is stress and what is addiction and how are they related to each other? Well, I will come to that later in my next paragraph. First and foremost, let’s talk about stress. In everyone’s life, one undergoes or experiences some stress of some kind. With the fast moving life of today one tends to find him or herself always trying to cope up especially since everything and everyone has evolved really fast for the past ten years or so. All this added up together can lead to one easily falling into what we call stress. Did you know that stress can also come from family, friends and peer pressure? These three elements especially the latter has caused lots of pressure in the world today that has been dubbed ‘digital’.

Now let us talk about what stress and addictions are. Well, for starters, stress is some kind of strain or tension felt when one is experiencing environmental, work or even family challenge. This could be as a result of death of a child, a lover and even of a close friend or relative, divorce, peer pressure and financial matters. To mention but a few. Addiction on the other hand is when one is devoted to something that could either be drug related or just devotion to something of some kind. Someone with an addiction problem always have the strong urge and need to always have that thing that they are addicted to. It’s almost if not a disease of some sort and can be treated if one seeks treatment in time.

We all know that a little push is good for everybody thus a little bit of pressure is not harmful. It’s dangerous only when it goes overboard. As the saying goes, too much of something is dangerous, so it stress and pressure. If you push yourself too much you will always get into stress, trying so hard to cope in your job, family or amongst your friends and feeling that you are not meeting their standard could also push one into stress because they will always be trying to fit in. well, trying is not bad but not to an extent that it affects you or drives you into stress and depression. It’s your life we are talking about here.

So how does stress result into addiction?

It’s actually not rocket science to relate the two. Though not all stress will always catapult into addiction, most of them usually do. Infect stress and addiction are almost synonymous. Synonymous in the fact that you can rarely get one without the other. Most or all individuals have their own ways of dealing with different kinds of stress in different ways. Some people will just need to take a few hours or days off from work or whatever stress is it that they are going through and it all goes away but there are some people who will turn to stronger things like alcohol, cigarettes or drugs like cocaine or heroin to relax them from the stress they are undergoing. In most countries, cigarettes and alcohol are legal so they are usually the most sort after as stress relievers. They are equally cheap, affordable and readily available.

One can start by just joining friends or relatives for a social drink over the weekend to put away or forget the stress he or she is went through during the week. It could just be an innocent get together that could start with one weekend then when you go home or is on your own, you will feel like the stress is has gone away or subsided. This trend may go on from weekends to daily because you will always seem to feel tensed during the week and after a few drinks later in the day or even on weekends you will feel better. By this time, you will have found or would thing you have a solution of getting rid of your stress. Is it me or does cigarette make a good companion of alcohol? These two go together very well just like stress and addiction. In fact, it’s almost impossible to separate the two. Most often your drink will be generously escorted with a cigarette. Some will also start with the hard stuff like heroin and cocaine.

  • Addiction

Well, remember we had mentioned earlier that addiction is too much devotion to something regardless of what it is? Now when one starts depending too much on something it becomes addiction. Please don’t get it twisted and start looking for comfort somewhere else as any form of dependency may lead to addiction. However there are many ways to know if you are addicted or headed there especially for the ones using drugs. We all know our body and can tell if there any weird changes. If you start losing weight, getting tremors then start getting worried. Honestly though, do we need to wait to experience all these and is it really worth it?

First avoid stress by always keeping away from whatever drives you into stress. It’s given that some stresses are inevitable like death or even family matters like divorce but it will help to know that we are not the only ones going through such calamities. Issues like peer pressure are avoidable. How? Simple. Keep away from anyone expecting too much from you at the expense of your health. All said and done, alcohol, cigarettes or any form of addiction will never be cure for stress.

If you fall victim of addiction from stress related causes, or suffering any form of addiction, we at New Frontier Medicine Academy.

Stress and Addiction: Where’s the connection?

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Understanding Alcohol, Its Effects and Categories

June 26, 2014

What is alcohol?

Alcohol is a tranquillizing liquid, which means it decelerates down your body’s responses in all kinds of ways. Just enough can make you feel gregarious; too much and you’ll have a hangover the following day, and may not even remember what you got up to; and way too much alcohol in a single term could put you in a coma or even kill you.Even though it is authorized for those aged eighteen years and over to buy and drink alcohol, that doesn’t mean it’sAlcoholism any less imposing than other drug.

Formal guidelines

Aimed at young people, it is endorsed that you don’t drink at all if you’re under fifteen year, as this can be expressly harmful. The best advice is not to drink alcohol until you are eighteen years of age. If you do choose to drink formerly then, reminisce to make sure you’re with a responsible fully-grown who will stop you doing anything that could be treacherous; On no occasion drink more than once a week, and on that one day young men are advised not to drink more than three to four units, and young women not to drink more than two to three units. For adults it is recommended men shouldn’t regularly drink more than three to four units a day and women shouldn’t regularly drink more than two to three units a day (regularly is drinking at this sort of level every day or most days of the week). After a night of heavy drinking, you shouldn’t drink for forty eight hours to let the body to recuperate.

Many individuals who see themselves as social drinkers are at risk of emerging with long term health situations because of the quantity they repeatedly drink. Most drinkers are unaware that regularly consumption more than the limits advised by medics can lead to a widespread range of long term health glitches, including cancers, strokes and heart attack.

Types of Alcoholic Beverages

The variety of alcohol types, different brands, and mixing ingredients is sometimes overwhelming. Syrup Magazine makes it easy for you to gain a clear understanding of each type of alcohol and mixing ingredients by breaking them down to their basic classes: Spirits, Liqueurs, Wines & Champagnes, Beers, and Mixers.

SPIRITS

  • GIN – a colorless alcoholic beverage made by distilling or redistilling rye or other grain spirits and adding juniper berries or aromatics such as anise, caraway seeds, or angelica root as flavoring.
  • VODKA – originally distilled from fermented wheat mash but now also made from a mash of rye, corn, or potatoes.
  • RUM – distilled from cane juice, or from the scamming’s of the boiled juice, or from treacle or molasses, or from the lees of former distillations. Also, sometimes used colloquially as a generic or a collective name for intoxication WHISKEY – distilled from grain, potatoes, etc., especially in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. In t
  • TEQUILA – an alcoholic liquor distilled from the fermented juice of the Central American century plant Agave tequila.
  • BRANDY – an alcoholic liquor distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice.

LIQUEURS (FLAVORED SPIRITS)

Liqueurs are flavored spirits prepared by infusing certain woods, fruits, or flowers, in either water or alcohol, and adding sugar, etc. Others are distilled from aromatic or flavoring agents.

WINES & CHAMPAGNE

  • RED WINE – wine having a red color derived from skins of dark-colored grapes.
  • WHITE WINE – any wine of a clear, transparent color, bordering on white, as Madeira, sherry, Lisbon, etc.; — distinguished from wines of a deep red color, as port and Burgundy.
  • ROSE WINE – rose-tinted table wine from red grapes whose skins were removed after fermentation began.
  • CHAMPAGNE – a sparkling white wine made from a blend of grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne.
  • SPARKLING WINE – any of various gassy wines, such as champagne, produced by a process involving fermentation in the bottle.
  • VERMOUTH – a sweet or dry fortified wine flavored with aromatic herbs and used chiefly in mixed drinks.
  • BEER-LAGER – a type of beer of German origin that contains a relatively small amount of hops and is aged from six weeks to six months.

NON-ALCOHOLIC MIXERS

alcoholWater, juice, sparkling beverages, syrups, coffee, chocolate. What are its short term effects? When a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, enters the bloodstream, and goes to all the tissues. The effects of alcohol are reliant on on a variety of factors, including a person’s size, weight, age and sex, as well as the amount of food and alcohol expended. The disinhibiting effect of alcohol is one of the main reasons it is used in so many social situations. Other effects of moderate alcohol intake include dizziness and talkativeness; the immediate effects of a larger amount of alcohol include slurred speech, bothered sleep, nausea and vomiting. Alcohol, even at low doses, significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required to drive a car safely. Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts, including domestic violence and child abuse. Aftermaths are another possible effect after large amounts of alcohol are consumed; a hangover consists of headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness and fatigue.

What are its long-term effects?

Lengthy, heavy use of alcohol can lead to addiction (alcoholism). Sudden cessation of long term, extensive alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms, including severe anxiety, tremors, illusions and convulsions. Long-term effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol, especially when joint with poor nutrition, can lead to perpetual damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver. In addition, mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants may suffer from mental hindrance and other irreversible physical abnormalities. In addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at superior risk than other children of becoming alcoholics

Can’t Stop Taking Alcohol? Get Help Here

A team of experts from New Frontier Medicine Academy have determination to work with you obstinately until you finally stop consumption. We treat all clients in a sole manner after listening to their problems and assessing their situations. Your well-being is our duty consequently, we will not only help you stop drinking but also get you back into a perfect shape. Heal your body, mind and spirit so you start a whole new life free of liquor and depression. Come to New Frontier for reliable results.

Understanding Alcohol, Its Effects and Categories

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Alcohol and Breast Cancer

June 26, 2014

Influence Of Alcohol On Breast Cancer

BREAST CANCER. What comes to one’s mind when they hear of it? Eight out of ten people will probably give ‘DEATH’ as their answer. Breast Cancer is a very dangerous disease, perhaps even the number one killer disease globally after diabetes and hypertension or high blood pressure as it is known in lay man’s language. Cancer is a disease that comes as a result of cells that have grown out of control in our bodies. There are however many types of cancer and are classified in different ways mostly by the type of cell that was affected originally, breast cancer is just one of them. It usually damages the cell by separating it hysterically to form lumps or masses of tissues called tumor.

Breast Cancer

How about ALCOHOL? Well alcohol in simple terms, is a substance or drink that gives someone or some people some kind of a high that they term as ‘ out of this world ‘ but in real sense ii is an organic compound whereby the hydroxyl functional group (-0H) is bound to carbon atom. In essence, the carbon centre must be saturated, having single bonds to couple other atoms. Alcohol and cancer mixed together is near fatal. Mostly people take alcohol in order to reduce the pain they are having because cancer is very painful, especially during chemotherapy. But is it necessary to consume alcohol even if it some sort of pain reliever? Well, there has been mixed reaction towards this debate.

Ironically, new research indicate that alcohol taken moderately among breast cancer survivors will immensely reduce their risk of dying from heart related diseases. Heart related disease is very popular with breast cancer survivors. Alcohol should not be used with the thought that it will cure breast cancer. It is important to take note that it will only benefit the ones that have survived from this ordeal. It is also not one hundred percent guarantee that all or anyone diagnosed with breast cancer will be a survivor.

Alcohol consumption earlier in life between ages 18 to 40 or even later in life more often will have great impact on breast cancer. You can however decrease your alcohol or just stop it all together but considering the health benefits it has on cardiovascular on breast cancer survivors, alcohol needs to be balanced by the help of one’s physician so that it becomes a win situation. It has also been noted that every woman who drinks more than six or more bottle of beer weekly has a higher risk of invasive breast cancer compared to those who don’t drink at all. The risks gets even higher on those who drink more than thirty bottles weekly. And this is irrespective of the type of alcoholic beverage taken. One should also take a deep look at her family history.

Factors that can alter a woman’s risk of breast cancer can also include first full term pregnancy which will also include exposure to ionizing radiation. Many research have not dug into this overtime. Making alcohol intake a habit after surviving cancer especially in early stages can however cause recurrence compared to those who abstain. This risk will be higher particularly in people who are overweight or older.

How do we prevent breast cancer?

Any cancer leave alone breast cancer can be prevented. Human life style has become so modern that people are living very carelessly without putting their health first. They are doing this by eating the wrong foods like processed foods and also consuming alcohol excessively.

Alcohol though when taken in moderation is not bad but moderation has also been overrated. One should consider completely quitting to avoid issues of dependency. Remember also excessive intake of alcohol at an early age is what may accumulate in ones blood stream and later cause cancer in the body. As much as cancer can be good in cancer survivors hearts, it is proper that we understand that too much of it can be detrimental.

Breast Cancer

Apart from reduction of alcohol intake, please quit smoking if you are already at it or simply don’t start. It is also very important for one to control their weight for health purposes even if it not for the prevention of breast cancer. Weight will come with other health risks too. Weight control will come with physical activities. If you are a breast feeding mother then you are in luck as breast feeding decreases chances of getting cancer especially when done more often. Don’t take too much 0f hormonal drugs. Don’t also expose yourself to too much radiation like x-rays. Please avoid this procedures if your chances of getting breast cancer will be more.

All said and done. Do you know that breast cancer can be prevented or even cured? Many a people will give up hope when they discover that they have this dreaded disease. Well, just follow a healthy life style and we will leave in a CANCER free world.

Influence Of Alcohol On Breast Cancer

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