Substance Abuse Among School Children : A study in A.U High School, Visakhapatnam

The use of addictive substances by adolescents and young adults is reported since many years. However, this was mostly confined to the population groups in cosmopolitan cities and to the use of LSD, marijuana etc. However in the recent period a disturbing trend of use of addictive substances by children studying in Municipal schools is noticed and the number of such children is on raise. Most of the children attending to municipal schools belong to low income groups and come from families where parents are illiterates. These parents have to struggle hard from dawn to dusk to make both ends meet. Consequently they do not find either time or energy to oversee the children's behavior and monitor their studies. Under these circumstances these children are getting used to the addictive substances like Gutka. Its trade name may vary thought the essential composition of the substance is same. The intake of these substances reportedly has a negative impact on the health and academic performance of these children.