CAIRO: Drug use in Egypt has a long history beginning as far back as the times of the ancient Egyptians and well into the 19th and 20th century. During today's economic climate characterized by unemployment and low wages this historical inclination towards drug use has turned into a nation-wide drug addiction problem, a psychiatrist specializing in addiction told Bikya Masr. Estimates of drug users in Egypt range from one million to 6 million people, with most drug users being in the 15-25 age group. Accurate statistics are difficult to obtain given the taboo nature of drug abuse and the stigma associated with being an addict. According to Dr. S, who asked to remain anonymous, there are numerous private hospitals that deal specifically with drug addiction. The treatment methods used in these hospitals to combat addiction are often insufficient. “The treatment for addiction in these hospitals focuses on the withdrawal symptoms alone, often by letting the patient sleep through the painful withdrawal period and then telling them they have been cured,” Dr. S told Bikya Masr. “No cognitive therapy is conducted and so the rate of relapse is high,” he added. Cognitive Therapy is used in conjunction with behavioral therapy to treat addiction. The former focuses on changing the maladaptive thought processes that perpetuate addiction, the latter addresses the patterns of behavior that maintain the addiction. “There is also a lack of social services, so the addict is given no help in reintegrating into society so they often fall back to addiction,” explained Dr S. Since no specialized equipment is needed to treat addiction setting up a psychiatric treatment center for addiction is a low cost high profit venture. “You basically need a building but what they charge for treatment is several hundred times the actually cost.” said Dr. S, and “the way they treat addiction ensures that the addict will return, so addicts become repeat customers.” State run psychiatric hospitals face major shortcomings as well. “Public hospitals that treat addiction often have drugs available inside.” The way in which the addicts are perceived is often another complication in their treatment, the doctor said. “I personally know psychiatrists who think that the addict is entirely to blame for their addiction and so they think that their recovery should be as painful as possible.” There has been an increased awareness of Egypt's drug abuse problem. State sponsored drug awareness campaigns that have recently aired on Egyptian satellite television attempt to depict the debilitating effects of drug abuse and they also attempt to humanize the addicts. “The emergence of these awareness campaigns is a sign that Egyptian society is starting to acknowledge the problem of drug addiction, but it is still very early for any real institutional changes to occur,” said the doctor. BM
