Effects of Addiction - Social and the Society

Addiction is one of the most serious diseases of society. It destroys lives, tears relationships apart, and turns responsible and productive people into deranged and anti-social individuals who end up becoming a liability to their community rather than an asset. If you have ever heard of the phrase, “Opium destroys a nation”, believe it. No matter what form of addiction it may be, if it is not controlled or stopped, it will corrupt the country’s production, which will affect the economy, leading to the fall of the nation.

It is essential for people, especially to those in the government to realize the tremendous effect of addiction on a societal level. Addiction is infectious, like a virus that slowly invades every section of the body and destroys it from inside out. And like a disease, addiction is easy to catch yet very difficult to get rid of. Being aware of the devastating effects of addiction will help improve programs to stop it, thus minimizing (or if possible, removing) this bane of society that will help lead the country into a prosperous future.

The Individual: How Addiction’s Effect on a Person Affects His/her Community

It all starts with the individual. When a person falls victim into addiction, he/she begins to degrade and deteriorate in almost every area of his/her life – physically, mentally, emotionally, and morally. Addiction victims are socially inept; they avoid interaction with other people, and become self-centered. Addiction corrupts a person’s way of thinking and perspective, effectively disabling the person in all ways possible.

In most cases of addiction, people who fall victim to it become social outcasts, and are looked down by everyone else. People who used to be friends stay away for fear of what addiction victims might do, as addiction victims are often mentally unstable. Addiction has a tremendous impact in society, and people must be aware of how important it is to prevent this disease as much as possible.

The Impact of Addiction in Society’s Economy

It might seem that the connection between addiction and economy is small, but take a closer look and you will find just how great the impact is. Addiction causes an individual to become incompetent, rendering him/her useless to his/her community and thus becomes a liability rather than an asset. Turn enough people in a community into substance abusers, and you effectively cripple the economy.

Addiction not only affects the production through rendering the individual disabled physically and mentally, but it also contributes in wasteful spending; instead of being used for more productive purposes, a particular portion of the national budget goes into rehabilitating addiction victims. Thus, people who fall victims to addiction not only lessen the productivity of society, but also decreases whatever resources they already have.

The Relationship between Crime and Addiction

A large percentage of crimes committed nowadays are related to addiction in one way or another. The most common of these crimes involve theft, mugging, and in extreme cases, murder and homicide. Addiction causes an insatiable craving in an individual that would cause him/her to find whatever means necessary to obtain whatever he/she is addicted to. In fact, statistics show that most of the criminals in prison have traces of addictive substances in their bodies, which further solidifies the relationship between addiction and crime.

Public Health

Because addiction also directly affects a person’s physical health, public health institutions are also significantly affected. In fact, quite a percentage of people who are admitted to hospitals all around the country have been due to direct substance addiction, while a bigger percent is due to sicknesses in which substances such as drugs, cigarettes or alcohol, were a huge contributor.

Addiction is a serious issue in society, and there is no doubt about it. And as members of the community, it is important that we take part in erasing this dreadful disease in every way we can – whether in having concern for the victims of addiction, supporting anti-addiction programs, or simply raising our children in the right way they should go.