Central and Western provinces have the highest number of alcohol abusers.
Coast takes the lead in bhang and heroin usage, while Eastern is the hub of miraa consumption. But it is Nairobi that takes the trophy for abuse of all types of drugs.
Analysing its helpline data base for the last 12 months ending in March, the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (Nacada) says it received 22,554 calls for help within the period, showing a clear geographical pattern of the type of drugs abused in what part of the country.
A report of a national alcohol and drug abuse workshop held in March indicates most calls for help from people with drug problems come from Nairobi.
According to Nacada, “Users of alcohol are likely to come from Central and Western provinces; users of tobacco are likely to come from Central Province; users of bhang are likely to come from Coast and Western Provinces; abusers of miraa are likely to come from North Eastern Province; users of heroin and cocaine are likely to come from Coast Province.”
Justifying why limiting drinking hours as proscribed by the new alcohol law is important, Nacada says most young farmers across the country are often drunk by noon, the most productive time of the day.
But the agency says it is still too early to assess the impact of the new laws.
Citing an investigation carried out by National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme, the report shows livestock keepers have a bigger appetite for alcohol compared to their colleagues who tend to crops.
However, the highest spender on the tipple and other drugs was found to be the fisher folk.
The fisher folk reported the highest levels of expenditure on drug and other substances with almost half of them spending anywhere up to Sh5,000 monthly followed by livestock farmers at about Sh1,000 a month.
Crop farmers were found to be spending Sh500 within the same period, a significant amount in the rural areas.
The study was carried out in 25 districts across the country and interrogated 1,483 respondents.
While alcohol abuse among students is highest in Western Province, a comparative sample in Nairobi shows pupils in Dagoretti have the highest rate of alcohol consumption.
While boys were found to generally take more alcohol in their lifetime, girls are reported to be taking more than the males in one sitting.
The study identified several factors that could make a student turn to drugs: being male; living with a grandparent; professing the Christian faith and residing in Dagoretti among others.
Courtesy of the Daily Nation Kenya. June 2011
