Drug consumption is a public health problem worldwide because it leads, experts warn, to an increase in health care costs as it is associated with injuries and dozens of diseases.
By María Josefina Arce
Drug consumption is a public health problem worldwide because it leads, experts warn, to an increase in health care costs as it is associated with injuries and dozens of diseases.
Although in Cuba this problem does not have a high incidence, the state has outlined a strategy that is characterized by a preventive approach, essentially aimed at the family, for which it has the support of agencies and institutions with family and educational responsibility.
An important role is played in this path by the Educational Program, which since 2016 was launched to prevent the occurrence of events of this nature in educational institutions at all levels.
Thus, training courses are systematically organized for teachers and managers, while workshops are held for families with the aim of making them aware in detail of the risks of drug use.
The National Education System maintains a constant exchange with the Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Public Health, the Federation of High School Students and the José Martí Pioneers Organization.
The work developed by the primary health care system in the area of drugs is also essential. From the doctor's and nurse's office in the community, guidance and assistance begin.
Likewise, in every municipality of the country there are mental health care centers that reach people affected by drugs and their relatives and develop a work of social awareness and risk perception, key to avoid the consumption of these substances that cause serious affectations to the human organism.
The professional counseling service offered by the Confidential Anti-Drug Hotline, created in 2002 and extended to the entire national territory, has also been consolidated. This free and anonymous help option operates 24 hours a day and is supported by psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, nurses and social workers.
In accordance with the behavior of the phenomenon worldwide, the Ministry of Public Health, a member of the National Drug Commission, has perfected over the years its National Prevention and Control Program for Addictions and an Action Plan, which has a multidisciplinary and intersectoral participation.
Our country maintains a policy of zero tolerance to drug trafficking. The General Customs of the Republic protects our territory from the possible entry of these substances. To this end, it has carried out a process of technological and computer modernization, also taking into account that every day traffickers resort to new and more sophisticated methods.
Cuba makes an important effort and dedicates considerable resources to confront the trafficking and consumption of narcotics, and to this end it also strengthens its international cooperation mechanisms.
