Mysore/Mysuru: Indian youths are increasingly hitting the bottle at a young age or shooting narcotics up their nostrils and blood vessels, replacing the puffs of cigarette smoke that gave them a high.

“The menace of drug addiction has spread fast among the youths and unfortunately, India is a happy hunting ground for drug peddlers. The youths should choose their friends wisely and most of them indulge in drug abuse as they fall into bad company,” regretted Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr. B.S. Manjunathaswamy.

He was speaking after inaugurating an ‘addiction-free day’ to mark the birthday celebrations of Shivayogi Mahantha Swamiji organised by the District Administration, Zilla Panchayat, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Limited and Department of Information and Public Relations at Maharaja’s College in the city on Monday. Students took oaths to shun bad habits on the occasion.

Advising the youths to refrain from drug abuse, he said youths often get addicted to drugs due to changing lifestyles and peer pressure. Youths should be advised against drug abuse and for that, it is every individual’s responsibility to spread awareness. “Always say no to drugs and yes to life,” he said.

Drug addiction is a social evil and is the tragedy of our days that millions of youths, the future citizens of India, fall victim to the habit of taking drugs. These addicted people are on the way to a steady and sure death. It is a social evil that affects an individual as well as the nation as a whole, he said.

He also remembered the efforts taken by Mahantha Shivayogi Swamiji in creating an addiction-free society by spreading awareness through door-to-door campaigns urging people to shun alcohol.

Dr. B.N. Raveesh, Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, said that it is all in the brain. “Youths are glued to their cell phones and are vulnerable to various addictions. As a result, there is an uncontrollable desire to consume drugs and addicted people engage in compulsive behaviour to take drugs. Control is paramount and even a cigarette contains over 3,000 poisonous elements,” he added.

A lot of people do not realise the damage caused by drug addiction. An individual may feel quite invincible and unaware that drugs can actually affect almost every system in the body, he revealed.

Over 23.4 percent of youths in India are addicted to various drugs including tobacco. Exposure to various views on the internet has only increased the tendency to experiment, as a lot of literature, especially around various drugs, creates ambiguity around the harms of the substance which unfortunately leads to more experimentation, Dr. Raveesh noted.

Maharaja’s College Principal Dr. Anita Vimla Braggs, NSS Unit Head Suresh, Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations T.K. Harish District Surveillance Officer Dr. Mahadevaprasad were present.