Prevalence of Addiction in University Students of Asia

Abstract

Addiction is a progressive disease which causes individuals to lose control of that substance despite worse effects of its use, posing a risk for disability and premature loss of life (1).

In Asia, over the past two decades, there has been an increasing trend in drug abuse, involving more than one substance, among youth including students. The higher risk of addiction is reported among students because of academic stress, disrupted sleep and social life and relative easy access to these addictive materials (2).

There are only a few systematic studies done to investigate this problem among students of Asia as compared to other continents. The available studies are localized to specific countries and groups not encompassing all the Asian students (3). We aim to access the degree to which students are involved in these abysmal activities and what factors cause them to fall prey to these actions.