Patna, June 29: Schoolchildren and college students are most vulnerable to being addicted to drugs and the age when youths get introduced to addictive substances has gone down alarmingly.

The increase in the number of youths consuming addictive substances has alarmed the experts and authorities of school and colleges equally. They are now trying different means to keep the youths away from such substances and help those who are already addicted.

Kumar Deepak, the general secretary of Disha, a city-based treatment centre for drug abuse-cum-rehabilitation centre, said: “Of every 25 enquiries I get in a month for drug abuse treatment, 10 are schoolchildren or college students. Of every 25 patients I admit to the centre, one is a school or college student.”

He said the most affected age group is between 15 and 35.

Deepak said at present the situation had become so alarming that even educational institutions were approaching him to get their students treated.

“Many reputed schools send their students to get the treatment for drug abuse,” said Deepak.

The first such case he got was six years ago.

“The authorities of a school got to know about the addiction of one of its students. They sent the child to us for treatment,” said Deepak, who set up the centre in 1989.

The greatest problem for the recovery of victims of drugs abuse was social stigma.

Deepak said educational institutions that send their students to the centre often refuse to enroll the students in their institutions once they had been cured. In such as case, the youth often suffered from isolation and returned to the drugs.

“I know of a child who was not taken back even after he was completely cured. The authorities of the school felt that he would have a bad influence on the other children. It would also not be good for the child to be exposed to the scrutiny of his classmates. We arranged for the education of the child at the centre. He scored 78 per cent in his boards and is at present a successful manager of a reputed firm in Chennai,” said Deepak.

Twenty-year-old Siddharth Kumar (name changed) is one of the youth being treated at Disha.

He said he got addicted after his friend introduced him to such substances.

“I feel much better after the treatment,” said the youth.