Malaysian drug addiction treatment to prioritise patients with children

Categories

Addiction Treatment
Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
In the papers
On TV

News Archive

Home » News » Drugs » Malaysian drug addiction treatment to prioritise patients with children

by Change | 9 Apr 2010

Bookmark

E-mail

Malaysian drug addicts with children will soon be afforded priority addiction treatment, it has been confirmed.

Individuals with children in need of drug addiction support in Malaysia will soon have priority access to drug addiction treatment.

The measure is outlined in the Addiction Medicine Association of Malaysia's (AMAM) 2010 National Drug Substitution Therapy report and is designed to take drug addiction intervention forward, MYsinchew.com reports.

According to the study, the majority of patients in Malaysia receiving drug addiction support are aged between 31 and 38 (5,880), while the number aged between 39 and 46 stands at 4,239. A further 2,797 people in need of drug addiction therapy are aged 54 and over.

Dr Steven Chow, AMAM's president, said the figures highlight the need to develop improved community-based drug addiction treatment options "that would address the specific needs of addicts with families with young children".

"We must improve community awareness programs and strengthen social re-integration strategies through various healthcare ancillary services," he commented.

The AMAM report also revealed that Malaysia is home to 2,555 drug addiction patients aged 23 to 30 and 56 aged between 16 and 22.

In 2008, the nation's Anti-Drug Agency reported that the most common reasons teenagers cited for using illegal substances are curiosity and peer pressure.

Bookmark this: