It’s time to be alarmed more than being shocked. After reports of children as young as 10 getting addicted to sniffing eraser fluid in top schools came out, it is appalling how such activities are becoming a regular feature in schools in metropolitan cities, especially in the capital. Students were recently caught on CCTV cameras installed in a school sniffing addictive fluids.
Glues, white ink, paint thinner inhaling and blackboard chalks are stationary items that are commonly available to students and can be bought easily to quench the urge for a drug. The report also says that children as young as 13 start on this and soon graduate to harder drugs.
Requesting anonymity, a 14-year-old, who is in rehab for the past seven months, shares his experience of getting addicted to this harmful habit. “In Class 7 I began with eraser fluid, petrol sniffing and gradually moved on to consuming gutka and alcohol. I started finding solace in inhaling them and considered the addiction an entertainment. At least five to six students from my class used to do the same. Soon, it turned into a dangerous habit. The addiction forced me to scavenge for food from rubbish heaps of restaurants or municipal dumps. I would fight with my parents everyday, so they had to admit me in a rehab,” he adds.
Unfortunately, parents of students who are victims of addiction do not know about their children’s involvement in such activities. And so, many of these cases go unreported and unnoticed. Sanjay Jha from Rising Hope Rehabilitation Centre discusses the symptoms of such addictions.
“There is a loss of appetite. It leaves the whole body dry and induces hallucinations and the body often loses control over its faculties. There is a spiritual bankruptcy where kids’ thinking power is dominated by their aggressive and rude behaviour. It has many harmful effects ranging from short-term ones like hallucinations, blackouts, sickness and dizziness to long-term effects like damage to the brain, heart, liver, kidneys and eventual death,” he says, adding that glue and eraser fluid are as dangerous as cocaine. And if it is used daily over a period of six months, it could cause depression or even permanent brain damage.
Schools authorities have already set strict measures to check such cases. Says Usha Ram, principal, Laxman Public School, “We have banned these substances in schools and only teachers are allowed to carry them. We have around 26 CCTVs installed and students’ bags are regularly checked. We had such cases before, but not anymore. And, if we find get hint of any such symptoms, our counsellors guide kids further.”
Gridhar Mishra from Prithvi Durga Drug Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre sums up by saying that such addictions are due to peer pressure and an urge to try new things.