African Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (AJADA)
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Generation at risk: Findings and recommendations from the tobacco and nicotine use among adolescents DaYTA survey 2024
Full text linkPeer and family influences play a significant role in adolescent use of tobacco and nicotine products, with boys and older adolescents being at a notably higher risk. Additional factors associated with tobacco use include observing someone smoking inside school buildings and exposure to second-hand smoke at home. Despite perceptions of profitability, the cost of using or producing tobacco or nicotine far outweighs any financial gain from product sales. Current evidence provides crucial, up-to-date, and inclusive data to inform policy decisions.To address these challenges, actionable recommendations include instituting legal reforms such as banning the importation, manufacture, and sale of new and emerging products, as well as enforcing stricter restrictions on sales to adolescents. Strengthening these measures is essential to protect the health and well-being of Kenya’s adolescents and youth and to reduce the long-term burden of tobacco-related diseases
Celebrity drug display on social media and its influence on youths’ substance abuse in Lagos State, Nigeria
Full text linkRecently, the heightened drug misuse among youths have been seriously linked with thesocial media, and some of the activities youths encounter on the social networking platforms.Evidences in literature provide further proofs that young population can be influence bywhat they see regularly online. In order to investigate this trend in relation to the realityamong Lagos youths, this study examined the drug display of Nigerian celebrities and howthat may potentially influence youths to embrace substance abuse. Three research questionswere designed to know if youths are familiar with celebrity drug displays in Nigeria; toascertain if celebrity online drug displays could make youths normalize substance abuse;and to know the level of influence such may have on youths in Nigeria. The study wasanchored on the social influence theory. The cross-sectional survey design through the useof online questionnaire was adopted to reach a sample of 385 in four tertiary institutionsin Lagos State, using the RDS technique. The data was presented and analyzed usingdescriptive analysis. The results show that all the respondents agreed that some celebrityengage in illicit drug displays on social media. And about 97% of the respondents are ardentfollowers of some of these celebrities. Also, 68.6% of the surveyed respondents claimed thatyouths could be influence to abuse drug through their exposure to online drug misuse. Thefindings further show that 57.4% claims the actions of celebrities displaying drugs onlineare deliberate, as they are known to smoke weed (Indian hemp), Shisha (Hookah) cigarette,heavy alcohol and other claim that they support and comments boldly on posts encouragedrug addictions. in view of these, the research recommends strict sanctions against onlinedrug displays, public sensitizations against drug abuse and banning of celebrities abusingdrugs online
An exploration of transitioning from smoked to injected nyaope use among users in Tshwane district, south Africa: A phenomenological analysis
No full textNyaope is a powerful opioid mix that is still commonly used in South African communities. People usually smoke it; however, intravenous use is gaining momentum. Injecting the substance increases the risk of getting blood-borne infections. The objective of this study is to explore the experiences and views of individuals who transitioned from smoking to injecting Nyaope, to gain an insight into drivers of transitioning and thus inform policy interventions. To understand what influences users to switch from smoking to injecting, a qualitative approach was utilized. Semi-structured, face to face interviews were conducted with 12 Nyaope users who met the eligibility criteria: at least 18 years old and above, mentally stable during data collection, and either preparing for rehabilitation, currently in treatment, or attending aftercare sessions after rehabilitation. The results of the study revealed five main drivers of transitions: peer influence, quicker and lasting substance effects, lack of constituents for a smoked joint, development of tolerance, and cost-saving measures. The findings highlight the need for a collaborative effort by key stakeholder to improve harm reduction strategies. While priority should be directed to those who are already injecting the substance, focus needs to be directed to those who are still smoking the substance to lower their chances of transitioning to injectable Nyaope
Barriers to successful treatment of substance abuse among Nigeria Youths: A systematic review
Full text linkThe prevalence of substance abuse represents a major global public health concern, with Nigerian youths facing particularly unique challenges. This systematic review examines the barriers to successful treatment of substance abuse among Nigerian youths. In line with the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines, this review included twelve studies published between January 1999 to May 2024. The key barriers identified in this review included funding shortages, uneven distribution of treatment centres, limited awareness of treatment services, poor policy and staffing and beliefs in alternative medicine. The results identified in this review highlighted structural factors such as a lack of qualified staff, absence of funding and poor policy enforcement, along with individual factors such as stigma and lack of awareness as the major factors that significantly impedes the successful treatment of substance abuse among youths in Nigeria. This review thereby highlights the need for increased funding, better policy enforcement and increased public-awareness campaigns to improve treatment outcomes for Nigerian youths. In conclusion, expanding access to treatment is contingent upon the strategic establishment, adequate staffing and proper equipping of additional mental health facilities nationwide
Exploring differences in academic motivation of secondary school students using and not using psychoactive substances in BuhwejuDistrict, Uganda
Full text linkMotivation happens to be one of the most important aspects that help students achieve theiracademic goals. However, certain maladaptive behaviours, like psychoactive substance use, can potentially dilute its achievements. The purpose of the study was to assess the differences in motivation among students who use psychoactive substances and those who do not. A cross sectional design was employed involving 350 secondary school students from eight randomly and purposively selected schools in Buhweju District. Data was collected using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire, processed and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS, V. 27). The analytical strategy used t-tests of independent samples. There was no statistically significant differences in intrinsic academic motivation between the psychoactive drug use group, (M = 46.3, SD = 6.2) and the non-psychoactive drug using group (M = 45.7, SD = 7.1), t (343) = 0.8, p = 0.420. Similarly, there was no statistically significant differences in extrinsic academic motivation between the psychoactive drug use group, (M = 34.7, SD = 4.4) and the non-psychoactive drug using (M = 34.9, SD = 4.0), t (343) = -0.293, p = 0.770. However, respondents who reported psychoactive drug use had significantly higher levels of amotivation (M = 37.0, SD = 6.3) compared to those who did not. Both Intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation did not differ between secondary school students who engage in psychoactive drug use and those who do not. Students who engage in psychoactive drug use exhibited higher levels of amotivation compared to non-psychoactive drug users. Schools should develop motivational enhancement programs to support students with higher amotivation levels and reduce their likelihood of turning to psychoactive drug use and strengthening teacher-parent collaboration to ensure early identification and support for the amotivation at-risk students.
Shisha smoking in Nigeria: Dissecting youth knowledge, awareness and perceptions (KAP) and health implicati
No full textThe study aimed to dissect the young Nigerian’s, within the age of 18 – 35 years, Knowledge, Awareness, and Perceptions (KAP) of shisha smoking in Kaduna Metropolis. A semi-structuredquestionnaire was administered to 259 youths, of whom 258 were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and ordinal logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and shisha-related KAP. The findings showed that 28.29% of the participants, who were males in their 18 years, have tried using shisha. The study revealed that there exists a significant relationship between the participants’ age and level of education, and their level of awareness and perceptions of shisha’s harmfulness. However, no notable relationship was found with specific knowledge of shisha’s contents. Though a significant gap was identified in their knowledge about its harmful contents and health implications, a reasonable proportion of the youths regardedshisha as less dangerous than cigarettes. It was, however, opined that the popularity of shisha among Nigerian youth was due to the lack of accurate information and misconceptions. The study calls for an urgent need for public health interventions to educate youths on the health risks associated with shisha
Substance use and the insidious rise of cardiovascular disease in young people in Africa: A call to action
Full text linkCardiovascular diseases are one of the world’s topmost causes of morbidity and mortality.The rising tide of non-communicable disease in Africa especially among young people might be secondary to a concurrent rise in substance use among this group. Studies addressing cardiovascular complications like arrythmias, angina and heart failure among African youth abusing substances are severely lacking. This is worsened by the absence of adequate surveillance systems, sensitization on cardiovascular effects from substance use and poor funding to address this issue. Researchers globally, have begun to find associations between substance use and early onset of cardiovascular disease especially in young people without comorbidities but the mechanisms of action are inconclusive. This paper explores a relationship between substance youth and cardiovascular diseases in African Youth and describes associated disease mechanism for commonly abused substances. We argue that cardiovascular diseases owing to substance use is an overlooked problem which might prevent Africa from reaching its WHO Global Action Plan of reducing premature cardiovascular disease mortality by 25 percent by 2025. Solutions proffered include funding African biomedical scientists to uncover the pathways through which illicit drugs cause cardiovascular diseases and to identify therapeutic endpoints. Furthermore, sustained campaigns to discourage substance use and enlighten youth on long- term cardiovascular implications of abuse will go a long way. There is an urgent need for policies that address the root causes of substance abuse prevalence among young people on the continent and more importantly address emerging cardiovascular effects of substance abuse
Financial burden of risky behaviours
No full textThis paper examines the effect of alcohol and tobacco use on Ghanaian adults’ savings decisions. The dataset used for the study was obtained from the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey. A recursive bivariate probit regression model was employed to address endogeneity between risky behaviours and savings decisions. The results revealed that participation indrinking and/or smoking significantly reduces the probability of household savings. The Average Treatment Effect shows that individuals who engage in risky behaviors are 34.2% less likely to save than those who do not. For persons who exclusively engage in these behaviours, as indicated by the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated, their average savings decrease by 64.5%. The heterogeneous analysis further reveals that drinking had a more severe financial impact than smoking; drinking reduced the likelihood of saving by 33.2% compared to 25.2% for tobacco. These findings reveal that smoking and alcohol consumption do more than harm health by making households less likely to save. Public health and fiscal policies that target risky behaviours can deliver double dividends: improve overall health outcomes while concurrently strengthening household financial resilience
A scoping review of the potential for no- and low-alcoholic beverages to mitigate alcohol harm in Kenya
No full textThe high burden of disease associated with alcohol consumption in Kenya, exacerbated by heavy episodic and unrecorded drinking, warrants exploration of harm reduction strategies. As the no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) beverage market grows globally, its public health implications in low-and middle-income countries like Kenya are poorly understood. Using a scoping review based on the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology, a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and African Journals Online supplemented by grey literature was conducted using the following keywords: non-alcoholic, low-alcohol, Kenya, alcohol harm reduction, and public health policy. Four themes emerged from the scoping review. First, the NoLo alcohol market in Kenya is emerging and rapidly growing, and international alcohol manufacturers are strategically targeting it to capture urban and health-conscious consumers. Second, the regulatory gap on NoLo alcohol products with respect to definition and marketing regulation, as well as fiscal regulation, exists. Third, there is a lack of local data on the population level effect of NoLo alcohol use and harm reduction among high-risk groups. Fourth, the use of NoLo products as a corporate social responsibility initiative by manufacturers may compromise other regulatory initiative
The hidden social crisis: Drug addiction in the Kashmir Valley,India
Full text linkThe paper investigates the responses of drug-addicted persons to understand the association between socio-economic characteristics and the driving factors of drug addiction. For this, a cross-sectional analysis of 100 addicted persons from Kashmir Valley, who were currently under treatment for de-addiction at the rehabilitation center of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, Srinagar, was carried out through a structured questionnaire. The analysis was conducted using basic statistical approaches. The results show that the primary drugs used include natural to synthetic, supplied mainly by friends, and mainly used for enjoyment. More than 95 % of the sampled respondents were less than 25 years in age and 34 % were polydrug users. Most of the persons admitted were below 40 years of age and using the substances more than three times each day. Additionally, 85% of the samples came from economically well-off families with a monthly income of more than 50,000 Indian Rupees, and 67% had a secondary school level of education or higher. The impacts of drug abuse varied and mainly affected the work, individual behavior, and health of the person. The people get involved in illegal activities like theft. Among the responders, 60 % were facing chronic health problems and 66 % reported that their social and economic condition professional assistance and counseling at the early stages. The study indicated a growing curiosity among addicted persons about the need to stop the crisis. The results suggested that cutting the supply and implementing stricter laws could be among the best strategies of the government agencies and civil bodies for controlling the spread of drug abuse in society