Hyderabad: Not only consumption of liquor, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh also among countries with a very high percentage of sedative drugs in the region, a survey of drug addiction by the Ministry of Justice and Social Empowerment of the Union has revealed.
The two Telugu countries together have 3.1% of the population using sedatives.
While the AP has 1.79% for a total of 6.74 lakh sedative users, Telangana has 1.31% (3.48 lakh) such addicts.
The Mammoth survey was conducted in the age group of 18-75 years, found that around 1.21% of Indian populations were addicted to sedatives.
Punjab has the highest percentage of the sedative addiction at 4.61%, followed by Haryana at 3.05% and Delhi at 3.19%.
Among the southern countries, its use is less than Telangana and AP with Tamil Nadu at 0.32%, Karnataka at 0.51% and Kerala 0.53%.
While most sedatives are used for medical purposes, sleep tablets can be addicted, say doctors.
“In psychiatric issues, most sedatives are given to calm the patient.
Some may pamper themselves in using sleep sedatives excessively, while those in the medical field also use other medical sedative drugs.
The availability of several sedative drugs is made difficult because of abuse,” Dr.
Kiran Madala, head of the Anesthesi Department, Government General Hospital (GGH), Nizamabad, told toi.
The use of excessive sedative causes liver and kidney damage to some people, he warns.
Experts also warn drug addiction disrupt family and personal life.
“Most people turn to various types of drug consumption for anxiety and stress for various reasons.
If this problem is maintained well with the right medical counseling or medical assistance, anyone can get out of it,” said Dr.
C Verender, a psychologist, said.