Tiwa savage was quoted to have said ' how can someone without money take cocaine' during her interview with Azuka. Nigerian youths don't have the resources to purchase hard drugs and have resulted to abusing common OTC medications. Drug abuse is not limited to Hard drugs as many people believe and today more youths are abusing common over the counter medications.
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or other. As said earlier it could be a legal drug( antibiotics, OTC analgesics,antihypertensives etc) or a controlled drug( Morphine,LSD, Pethidine e.t.c).
The drugs that are commonly abused in Nigeria are
CODEINE
Codeine is used to relieve mild to moderate pain. It is also used, usually in combination with other medications, to reduce coughing.
Cough syrups are a major source of codeine. These codeine abusers mainly students when large quantities are consumed are exposed to adverse hazards such as dependence, tolerance, sedation and euphoria. The codeine is purchased under false claims from phrmacies to cure cough related conditions.
They often swallow the content of a bottle of cough syrup in one go or mix it with alcohol
Abuse of codeine poses a risk of depression and death. The risk is increased with concurrent abuse of alcohol.Other adverse effects may include constipation following prolonged use, dizziness, vomiting, headaches and dry mouth just to mention a few.
ANTIBIOTICS
Common Antibiotics such as tetracycline , flagyl etc are part of drugs that are misued and abused.
Another antibiotic that is also abused is ciprofloxacin a fluoroquinolone with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity . Used in the treatment of gastroenteritis (such as cholera and dysentery), typhoid, sexually transmitted infections (such as gonorrhea and chancroid), skin infections as well as urinary tract infections.
However, it’s not without adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness and rashes among others.
In Nigeria, flagyl is the main drug people use in treating diarrhea and the risk of resistance has been increased.
POSTINOR-2
Postinor-2 is an emergency contraceptive only. Postinor-2 is not intended as a regular method of contraception.Users are advised not to use the emergency contraceptives more than twice in a 28-day period because of the irregularities in menstrual cycle that it has as a major side effect.
Common side effects are tiredness, nausea and vomiting. Some patients have also experienced stomach pain, diarrhoea, dizziness, headache, tender breasts, increased vaginal bleeding and skin reactions.
HYPNOSEDATIVES
Drugs such as Valium , Lexotan and Clonazepam are classified as Hypnosedatives. These Drugs are mainly used to treat sleep disorders. Abused mostly by Adults who have become dependent on these pills in order to sleep.
prolonged use of these medications is not without adverse effects such as respiratory depression, confusion, tolerance, dependence, visual disturbances, reduced libido (sexual drive) and headache.
PENTAZOCINE
This drug is a powerful but potentially additive analgesic which is used for severe pains resulting from conditions like sickle cell crisis, post surgical procedures, etc.
Although,a strictly controlled drug, Sicklers who “self medicate” are potential addicts to this drug.
Aspirin
Aspirin belongs to the group of drugs called Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
NSAIDS such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, piroxicam (feldene), indometacin etc are widely abused by Nigerians.
Aspirins are used to treat severe headaches (such as migraine), dysmenorrhoea (menstrual pain), rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and many other causes of pain.
PROMETHAZINE ( ROPHEGAN)
I had to just talk about this, there has been an increased use of Rophegan among the youths. It has sedative properties and most times like codeine the abusers take it with alcohol or drink the whole bottle at once.
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