Over-the-counter drugs are being sold like toffees at the grocery store

Monitoring Desk
There have been several campaigns against drugs in Pakistan and recently it was announced that drug tests will be conducted in schools in Punjab province.
But prescription drugs for mental illness are ‘selling like toffees at the grocery store.’
Adeel Chaudhry, a social worker working on mental disorders, says that due to the low cost and general availability of these drugs, people are becoming addicted to them.
According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan has only 0.19 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, the worst ratio in the region. According to a conservative estimate, five crore people in Pakistan are suffering from some mental problem.
According to experts, talking about mental illness is considered a disability in Pakistani society, so many people try to self-medicate. A look at the statistics shows that there has been an alarming increase in the rate of misuse of prescription drugs.
۔Adeel Chaudhry introduced a helpline for people suffering from mental problems called ‘Talk to Me Pakistan’ 18 months ago, which has received more than 150,000 calls so far.
According to him, about 68 percent of the people who use this service are not aware of depression. Because of this, the misuse of drugs containing chemicals called Alprazolam and Bromazepam is on the rise. These drugs are marketed under other names including Xanax and Lexotanil.
Is benzodiazepine addictive?
According to Nadeem Akhtar, Psychiatrist and Narcologist at Services Hospital, Lahore, ‘Zenix or Legzotinal is prescribed for patients suffering from depression, anxiety and panic. These drugs belong to the composition of benzodiazepines. In general, these medicines are also given to people who have complaints of not being able to sleep.
He further said that ‘these medicines contain addictive elements and hence prescribing medicines like Xenax or Legzotinal for more than four weeks can be very dangerous.’
Talking to the BBC, psychiatrist Ehsan Chishti said that it is very easy for a patient to get addicted to benzodiazepine. That is why these drugs are prescribed for a very small amount and for a limited time so that people do not become addicted to it.
According to Dr. Ehsan Chishti, “Not only in Pakistan, but worldwide, drug addiction is on the rise.” Many pain relievers, including most benzodiazepine-based drugs, are also being misused.
How dangerous is your treatment?
According to Adeel Chaudhry, the trend is increasing rapidly among students that they start treating their mental problems by themselves. The content found on the internet often misleads the child.
“We have received thousands of complaints of people who were facing mental problems but instead of contacting specialists, they found it convenient to use these narcotic drugs and became addicted to them.”
He further said that ‘you will be surprised that now there are many delivery services in this regard that make it possible to deliver these drugs secretly.’
Dr. Ehsan Chishti said that ‘most of the time people do not follow the recommended dosage and timing of the medicine, misuse the given medicine and soon develop tolerance to this addictive chemical.
“Thanks to this, they gradually increase the amount of the drug and once they become addicted, it becomes difficult to get rid of their addiction.”