ADDICTION INTERVENTION

Addiction Intervention

Addiction Intervention

Introduction

Addiction is continued involvement with a substance or activity despite ongoing negative consequences. The concept of addiction—whether to alcohol, cigarettes, heroin, or sexual behavior—is widely misunderstood. Although there is room for debate about the levels of addiction caused by different substances, and perhaps about the rights of people to use addictive substances, there is no debate about what constitutes addiction.

Singapore is a country with a diverse population. By global standards, Singapore's health condition is fine. Growing living standard, excellent housing, better education, first-class medical services safer water and hygiene, and the support of deterrent drugs, have all assisted to improve the Singaporeans' health considerably. However, as this paper suggests, alcoholism does affect a significant portion of population Singapore. This paper first provides the significance of the problem of alcoholism in Singaporean context together with the socio-ecological context in which the problem exists. The paper then moves on to explain how social and cognitive dissonance theories attempt to explain the probable causes and factors contributing to the disease. Finally, the paper provides a comprehensive discussion on intervention strategies, activities and processes employed in health promotion based on various treatment models.

Discussion

Alcoholism is a serious world health problem affecting person, family and co mm unity health. Wherever alcohol is consumed in appreciable quantities alcoholism has been reported, the incidence increasing with the amount consumed. Singapore is not an exception.

In Singapore, alcohol is obtainable at 719 hotels, bars and beer houses, 79 samsu shops, 6 government toddy shops, and approximately40 illicit places where “lallang tani” is sold. Since every place selling alcohol has about 30 regular customers (according to information from Alcoholic Anonymous members) there are probably 30,000 “regulars” who frequent such places. It is estimated that among those who drink, the incidence of problem drinkers is higher than 1 in 16, possibly 1 in 10 or higher. Therefore, if 10% of them have problems with alcohol there would be about 3,000 problem drinkers in Singapore. Taking the population at risk-as being over the age of 15, the size of this population is approximately 50% or 1 million. The incidence of problem drinkers of which alcoholics form the greet majority is 300 per 100,000 by this rather indirect method of estimation. Another method of estimating the incidence of alcoholism is to extrapolate from the known drinking population. Based on figures supplied by the Straits Times Readership Survey, it is concluded that the incidence or problem drinking ranges from 300 to 1300 per l00000 of population a risk.

The alcoholic could and does present as an emergency, for example: (a) alcoholic coma: (b) delirium tremens or acute alcoholic excitement: (c) acute psychotic episode: (d) or an alcohol complication of his debilitated state, that is, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, acute pancreatitis, haematemesis from ruptured oesophageal variaces, liver failure, beri-beri. Because of the poor nutrition and low reserve, the alcoholic is unable to recover as well as he should without prolonged convalescence. The facilities for treatment of the chronic alcoholic ...