CODEINE SYRUP ADDICTION, A CANKERWORM EATING DEEP INTO YOUR TODAY SOCIETY. EDUCATING THE YOUTHS ON THE DANGERS OF CODEINE ABUSE.

Codeine addiction is a widespread, extensive issue that ranges across ages, ethnicities and social backgrounds.

The opioid pestilence that was pronounced a general health crisis in America some time ago is currently desolating and spreading like wide fire among youth in Africa. It's stunning how much of an epidemic cough syrup abuse has become in Africa.

Unlike costly opioid physician recommended drugs, codeine, found in certain cough syrups is cheap, accessible, and can without much stress be purchased anyplace. This reasons has had it common for youths to consume this codeine contained cough syrup at excessive quantities thereby abusing it.

Opioids are a group of drugs that range from codeine and morphine to illicit drugs like heroin. Most opioids are recommended essentially for pain relief.
Codeine is likewise regularly abused because of its euphoric reactions when consumed in excessive amounts. It is highly addictive and when one becomes addicted to codeine, the inclination or want for this drug is wild and when taken in overabundance, it can devastatingly affect the brain and body.

Likewise, it causes kidney harm and seizures, the abuse of codeine can trigger mental psychosis, for example, delusion, mind flights, schizophrenia and mental instability.

A great number of young people using Africa as a contextual analysis are addicted to codeine cough syrup, the medicine has now turned into a street drugs consumed by youths at self will. It is frequently blended with soft drinks to make a concoction or sometimes taken straight from the container.

Codeine syrup addiction is currently a gigantic issue across Africa among the youth with reports of addiction in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Chad.

In Nigeria, lawmakers evaluate that the inhabitants of only two states in the nation's northern part consumes in excess of 3 million containers of it every day. The codeine itself is foreign made, yet the cough syrup is made in Nigeria by more than 20 pharmaceutical companies.

Mr Oluyemisi Ogun, the therapeutic director at a mental hospital in Lagos, raised a caution over the weekend that mental illness amongst the youth is on the increase due to excessive intake of codeine.

The Nigerian Federal Government has made the praiseworthy move to ban the production and importation of codeine as a dynamic pharmaceutical element for cough syrup preparation as a method for deterring the abuse of the substance among Nigerian youths. In Kenya and Zimbabwe the case is not different as the demand and consumption of codeine has tribbled the cost of cough syrup.

Measurements delivered by local anti-drug associations demonstrate that the utilization of the drugs has been noticed in primary and secondary schools, which have, thus, recorded an increase in the school drop-out rate. it was also discovered that not only primary and secondary school were abusing this drugs but also university students and other young grown-ups as well. It had turned into a staple in night clubs and birthday parties.

TREATMENT AND RECOVERY

The treatment of codeine addiction is costly. The purpose behind the high cost is that, beside restoration programs, codeine addicts regularly have mental issues, for example, uneasiness and depression, which are fomented by the stress of withdrawal. Psychosocial intercessions, including mental care, psychotherapy, counselling and social work administrations, generally shape some portion of the post-recovery support programs.

Since very few Africans can manage the cost of such mediations, the treatment of codeine abusers is critical. Occasions have been accounted for of patients being chained or tied to the floors of restoration centres to shield them from hurting themselves as well as other people.

Unmistakably, codeine addiction is a major issue to which health authorities ought to be directing much greater resources than what is on ground presently due to the fast spreading of this menace among the youths and it's deadly addiction effects.

In the same way as other opiates, withdrawal manifestations from codeine can be very serious, keeping the user in a cycle of utilization they discover hard to stop. Indeed, even after the treatment and restoration, a few young people still backpedals to it, while some never recovers fully as in the case of mental cases.

So the best and most solid treatment of codeine addiction is total abstinence from the drugs at the first place, stay focused and mentally alert, It is only then that one can achieve set goals and objectives. SAY NO TO CODEINE, SAY NO TO DRUG ABUSE.

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