International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June, 2010)

Health is the theme of this year's world drug campaign, to be launched on International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June, 2010).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is leading the international campaign to raise awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represent to society as a whole, and especially to the young.

The goal of the campaign "Think health - not drugs" is to mobilize support and to inspire people to act against drug abuse. The campaign encourages young people to put their health first and not to take drugs.

Drugs have the power both to improve and to damage health, depending on the type of drugs used, the quantity consumed and the purpose for which they are taken. For example, while morphine can relieve pain, heroin can be highly addictive. Such examples illustrate the need to control drugs.

Drugs under international control include amphetamine-type stimulants, cannabis, coca/cocaine, hallucinogens, opiates and hypnotic sedatives, all of which have immediate physical effects. While some of the physical effects might sound pleasant, they do not last long. Drugs can also severely hinder psychological and emotional development, particularly in young people. In addition, some users risk addiction.

Drug use is preventable. UNODC has developed prevention activities that provide the public, particularly young people, with the information, skills and opportunities they need to make healthy choices, including the choice to avoid using harmful drugs.

The world drug campaign calls on young people, who are twice as likely as adults to take drugs, to protect their health.

Parents, teachers and other interested individuals can also join the campaign. There are a number of ways to get involved, including providing information, by spreading the word about the campaign and organizing outreach or institutional events to mark International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June.

We can all play a role in promoting health in our communities.

Signs of drug use

Although there are certain emotional and physical symptoms of substance use, do not immediately assume that the person is on drugs. There could be other reasons why he or she behaves unusually.

Emotional and social signs
• Moodiness, excitement, anger, hostility, depression
• Constant lying and stealing
• Refusing to admit to the harmful effects of drugs
• Avoiding old friends or people who could confront them about behaviour changes
• Being secretive about phone calls
• Having friends they do not want you to meet or talk about
• Being evasive about their whereabouts
• Loss of motivation
• No interest in everyday life
• Playing truant from school

Physical signs
• Drowsiness
• Trembling
• Red eyes, dilated pupils
• Lack of interest in personal hygiene and appearance
• Slurred speech
• Loss of, or increase in appetite
• Uncoordinated movements
• Circles under the eyes
• Irregular sleeping habits
• Frequent colds and coughs
• Weight loss

(source: www.unodc.org)

The Human Clock: CHRONOBIOLOGY

It seems natural but why in a 24 hours day do we sleep at night and work in day, and why does ‘shit happens’ mostly in the mornings? Our biological routines are mostly time bound…and that too round the clock.
A clock can be defined as an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. Clocks have advanced from being the sun dials of ancient times to the ultra modern atomic clocks.

But there is another clock, besides the one hanging on the wall… inside our body. It is fitted in our brain. It determines the rhythmicity of our biological routines like being alert in day, sleepy at night. And the study of “biological time” or biological rhythmicity is called Chronobiology.

Among biological rhythms, circadian (in Latin: circa= about; dies= day) rhythms are the most extensively studied. The activity–rest (i.e. wake-sleep) cycle is the most apparent of all circadian rhythms.

There are various less overt phenomena going on inside our body which depend on this clock, such as many hormones are released in a pulasatile manner, heart attacks are more common in early mornings, the blood pressure varies at different times of day- being maximum in evenings, the normal body temperature is maximum in the evenings and lowest in early morning before dawn. The fever of tuberculosis also has an evening rise; the alertness in daytime also varies in between the day, being most alert in the forenoon. Although there can be exceptions… these processes are more or less time bound.

This human ‘clock’ resides in an area of brain- the anterior hypothalamus and is called suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) by the scholars. And it does not agree with the wall clock.

The mean circadian period generated by the human clock (or SCN) is approximately 24.18 hours. The wall clock completes an astronomical day/cycle in 24 hrs. So the human watch ticks 10 minutes and 48 seconds too slowly per day. Therefore, a circadian/human clock must be reset on a regular basis to be effective at maintaining the proper phase relationships of behavioral and physiological processes within the context of the 24-hour day. If not done, an individual will gradually come out of synchrony with the astronomical day. In slightly more than 3 months, a normally diurnal human would be in opposite phase to the day–night cycle and thus would become transiently nocturnal i.e. wakeful at night and sleeping in day.
Best wishes for your Time Check.