one meal together as a family per day could be all that could help you monitor the well being of your teenager and serve as an indicator if everything was okay with your ward. coming virtually from the horse's mouth, in this case, dr ss dha...pola of the nirvan neuropsychiatric hospital conducting a mental health camp would have us believe. according to very modest estimates the number of drug addicts within the city is well over the 25,000 mark, the situation being even worse in kanpur. a cursory glance through the admissions in the clinic substantiate this fact. cases related to de-addiction, especially among teenagers and young adults in and around lucknow, are on the rise. a prime reason is the proximity of drug cartels running in and around the barabanki region which put drugs and psychotropic substances within the reach of upwardly mobile teenagers of the state capital. the 'one meal together a day' maxim, says dhapola is what nuclear families should follow as an unwritten rule. "while one can understand growing work pressures and urban stress plaguing double income families, this simple daily routine could well save your child," he says. "cannabis based drugs result in an unnatural increase in food intake. smack based opiates cause the child to seek sweet and cold things. in the latter case one also notices a distinct sloppiness and disregard towards one's appearance. the minute you notice something abnormal in your child's behaviour, take time, pause, explore. if you feel something is wrong, nine out of ten times, it is. follow that hunch." it's not just smack or heroin and cannabis that can spell trouble. addiction to certain medicines like cough syrups- phensedyl, benadryl, proxivon, tidigesic and buprogesic, even substances like iodex, moove, ink and petroleum based products like shoe polish are not entirely unheard of. "teenagers have a natural curiosity. they see everything with a fresh vision. gone is the age of talking down to your kids. today you have to argue and reason things out. and the best way is by setting an example yourself. why should we have double standards - one for adults, the other for children." the nascent stage of urban society following a western module and yet hanging on to indian values is increasing the confusion in the minds of today's youth. today's average teenager is over exposed to the many vices that exist in society and trying to hide these from him doesn't really provide the ideal solution. it is the ice age- information, communication and education- and it would be best to stick to these tools when combating the menace of drugs and your teenager.
