Major Developments Major Developments by Calendar Year

Derriford Hospital in Plymouth has recognized relatively 63 newborns who were born with addiction picked up from their mothers and needed special drug treatment at other facility in the previous two years. In between January 2005 and November of 2009, 127 babies were born to substance-using mothers at Derriford Hospital, of which 32 children were delivered by staff between January and November 2009, 36 in 2008 (63 of them required special drug therapy treatment), 28 in 2007, 22 in 2006 and 9 in 2005.

Drug addiction is a major problem and more for pregnant mothers who sometimes feel that pursuing  help cause problem to themselves. Every year nearly 4,500 babies are born at Derriford Hospital. Although the degree of substance abuse cases may appear less but the number is more. Infants that are uncertain of having substance abuse problems are initiated to a special care ward for supervision, children with adequately severe drug withdrawal symptoms are admitted in a treatment program. Usually these programs are conducted for minimum of 10 days and some require care for two to three weeks or more.

There are programs for pregnant women who are experiencing substance abuse problems that concentrate on favoring the child to be born drug free or less affected due to drugs. Sadly, these programs are underutilized and most of these women preferred to go through the suffering of giving birth to a drug addicted child under the belief that they have no choice. If women are made aware about such programs, then high rates of drug addiction in newborns would be reduced.

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The figure of new drug users among girls below 16 in Hong Kong increased to nearly 30 per cent in 2009 compared with 2008 year. Representatives of the Action Committee Against Narcotics told, there were 337 recently reported cases of girls below 16 consuming drugs compared with 262 in 2008.

There is a decline in the total number of noted drug users, which decreased by 2.3 per cent to 13,909 in the large town of 7 million people. The total number of drug users in the below 21 age group decreased by 3.3 per cent to 3,359.

The figures, reported at a meeting to analyze the drug circumstances in the former British colony, recognized that nearly 71 per cent of young drugs abusers consumed their drugs at home or at the homes of friends in contrast to 29 per cent who consumed them at discos or karaoke bars.

The report revealed that heroin is the most common type of drug among the noted drug abusers in 2009 even though there is a  4.8-per-cent fall in the reported number of heroin abusers. Ketamine is the most popular psychotropic drug taken among the young with 53.9 per cent of abusers below 21 age.

The committee told that the most common reasons noted for consuming drugs were to recognize with peers (55.8 per cent), to decrease boredom or depression (51.8 per cent), and eagerness (39.9 per cent). Drug abuse among the young has increased in recent years in Hong Kong, impelling the government to intensify drug education in schools and conduct voluntary drug-testing in few secondary schools.

A government survey consisting of more than 150,000 pupils recognized that one out of every 10 Hong Kong primary schools had consumed drugs or turned to substance abuse.

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