Certificate course on Basics of Addiction Management for Counselors and Nurses

Substance use disorders (SUDs/Addiction) (alcohol and other drug misuse) account for 5.4% of the world annual disease burden.  While tobacco and alcohol have been the major legal substances of abuse in India, there has been a rapid and substantial increase in the use of marijuana, newer drugs of abuse (methamphetamine, LSD) and pharmaceuticals.

As per WHO, Psychoactive drug  is any chemical substance when taken into the body alters its function Physically and Psychologically. They influence Mood, Thoughts (cognition) and behavior. 

Adolescents are experimenting with drugs much earlier, placing them at a higher risk for addiction and related harm. Substance use has a substantial impact on not only on the user’s physical and mental health, but also has devastating consequences for the family and society at large. The growing problem of addictions (alcohol, drugs and behavioral health issues like gambling and internet addiction) on the one hand and lack of trained service providers on the other has led to a huge “treatment gap”. There is an urgent need to bridge this treatment gap in this specialized area of public health importance.