“Teenagers and children in the age group of eight to 11 years are coming to our clinics as they do not generally report in the out-patient departments. It’s very difficult to quote an exact figure pertaining to the number of total cases, but substance abuse, mostly sniffing correction/white fluid and petroleum products like paint thinners and kerosene, in the younger population is increasing. In a slightly elder age group — above 14 years — children are usually addicted to smack, ganja and intravenous drugs,” says Dr B S Chavan of, head, Department of Psychiatry, GMCH, Sector 32.

At PGI’s Drug De Addiction Centre, which sees around 500 cases from the region annually, around 5 per cent of the patients are below 18 years of age. “Tobacco is a common addiction among children of all age groups whom we counsel at our clinic,” says Dr D Basu of the psychiatry department, PGI.

“We had an eight-year-old patient last year who was addicted to sniffing white fluid. Other substances that trap children include transparent eraser fluid and medicines such as proxyvon and spasmo-proxyvon, prescribed for stomach cramps. The dependence on cough syrups have, however, seen a decline,” adds Dr Basu. He says all these products adversely affect the brain of children and there is a possibility of sudden collapse in rare cases.

“While counselling a child from a slum, we realised that peer pressure was the most dominant factor that had made him an addict. He told us that he was not allowed to be a part of his group of friends till he started smoking,” adds a PGI doctor.