SCHOOL LIFE HIGHS: CHILL OUT AND LET IT ROLL BABY

NEW DELHI: It usually starts with an innocuous cigarette stolen out of
dad's pack to strike a pose. To escape exam blues, to prove that
you're with it and to be happening its necessary to be high.

The gateway to drugs is getting lower by the day with increasing
instances of abuse among schoolchildren.

High on experimentation: "I come across about 10 children in a year
who have used drugs," says Etishree Bhatti, counsellor, Delhi Public
School (R K Puram). Preliminary findings of an ongoing study
"Expressions" by VIMHANS in city schools, indicates 8 to 15 per
cent schoolchildren have experimented with drugs.

A study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) found that experimentation among schoolchildren is as high as
13.6 per cent. The study surveyed almost 3,000 schoolchildren in six
schools spanning a wide socio-economic spectrum.

Additional professor with AIIMS, Dr Umesh Kapil who conducted the
study, says that first time use in children is because of curiosity
and the easy availability of the substances. AIIMS de-addiction
department receives about two to three cases of drug abuse amongst
schoolchildren every month, said additional professor of clinical
psychology Dr Manju Mehta.

Drugs used: According to Jitender Nagpal, VIMHANS, the most common
drugs used by children are smack, marijuana (grass), hashish (hash),
heroin, transquilisers, stimulants such as amphitamine, ecstasy and
hallucinogens. The local paan shops act as outlets.

The alternative kick: But wherever availability is a problem,
alternatives such as a cough syrups, whiteners, glues and nail-polish
removers come in. "The whitener fashion came back last year. Children
would pout the diluter into handkerchiefs for sniffing", Bhatti said.
Cough syrups are popular because of their alcohol content. Moreover
drinking a cough syrup isn't exactly a taboo, counsellors added.

The lure: What is it that prods these children into the dangerous
waters? Peer pressure, it seems is the main culprit. Academic stress,
poor self-esteem, parental neglect and family conflict follow.

Bhatti says 90 per cent of the children try drugs out of the need to
look for variety. "This is a generation which is intelligent, but
leading a monotonous life. Drugs give them the thrill they look for in
life," she adds.