DAMMAM: About 5 percent of students at universities are addicts, while 10 percent smoke cigarettes, which can act as a gateway to harder drugs, according to the National Committee for Drug Control.

Ghaliah Hamid, responsible for preventive programs at the body, said that it was highly likely that teenagers smoking cigarettes would move on to more harmful narcotics.

This includes Captagon and volatile solvents and cleaning substances. “Such substances cause serious health problems, including sudden death, brain and liver damage and mental illness.”

Hamid said that there are studies indicating that some people have a genetic predisposition to addiction. However, other factors that play a role include family history, and social, psychological and physical variables.

Awatef Al-Duraibi, assistant director of women’s programs at the body, said drugs cause serious health problems including permanent protrusion of the eyeballs, inflammation of the mucous membranes in the nose and cancer.

Addicts can also suffer from acute bronchitis, palpitations, depression, high blood pressure, cardiac muscle atrophy, cardiac arrest, cirrhosis, kidney failure, vomiting, diarrhea, chronic constipation, stomach pain and AIDS, Al-Duraibi said.

She said proper treatment must include mental and physical interventions, which would be determined by the type of drug used, duration and the general health of the person.

She said drug traffickers face penalties including death, imprisonment, flogging and fines, depending on the severity of the offense. There are no sanctions for addicts seeking treatment, she said.

According to reports, the country’s security agencies seized drugs with a street value of SR34 million last year.