Drug addiction and drug abuse, chronic or habitual use of any chemical substance to alter states of body or mind for other than medically warranted purposes. Addiction is more often now defined by the continuing, compulsive nature of the drug use despite physical and/or psychological harm to the user and society and includes both licit and illicit drugs, and the term "substance abuse" is now frequently used because of the broad range of substances (including alcohol and inhalants) that can fit the addictive profile. Psychological dependence is the subjective feeling that the user needs the drug to maintain a feeling of well-being; physical dependence is characterized by tolerance (the need for increasingly larger doses in order to achieve the initial effect) and withdrawal symptoms when the user is abstinent. There are a lot of effects of drug addiction to the economy, society, and family. Drug addiction affects individual's physical and mental health. Drug addicts are burden for a family and society. It is a great challenge for all nations of the world to prevent drug addiction. This article reviews the effects of drug addiction in details. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i2.17927 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(2): 84-89

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Background and Aims Rice mill workers are frequently exposed to rice dust specks containing bacteria, endotoxins, spores, and chemicals in workplaces. Consequently, they develop diverse respiratory symptoms that lead to increased disability and social burden. The present study was conducted to observe the frequency of respiratory symptoms among rice mill workers in Bangladesh. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted at different rice mills in Rangpur district of Bangladesh. Three hundred and forty‐six rice mill workers, both male and female of 18 years and above, with a job experience of at least 3 years, were selected as study subjects. An equal number of people who had never worked at rice mills were selected from the nearby locality as the nonexposed group. Enquiries were made regarding respiratory symptoms with the help of a preformed questionnaire which contained sociodemographic characteristics, occupational history, potential confounding factors, and physical parameters. A respiratory dust sampler was used to measure workplace dust concentration. Results The presence of one or more respiratory symptoms was significantly higher among rice mill workers than in the nonexposed group (52.3% vs. 17.6%). Rice mill workers who worked for more than 10 h and had a working experience of more than 15 years had a higher frequency of respiratory symptoms (41.3% and 39.8%, respectively). Rice mill workers with body mass index (BMI) <18.5 also exhibited more respiratory symptoms (25.4%). All working sections had a higher‐than‐average dust concentration level, with the milling section being the dustiest (PM 2.5 492.1 µg/m 3 ). Conclusion This study showed an increased frequency of respiratory symptoms among rice mill workers of Bangladesh. Longer working experience and working hours, low BMI and high dust concentration levels were strongly associated with that increase in frequency.

Background and Aims Inhalation of respirable silica dust during several stone processing methods can result in several respiratory diseases. However, data are scarce regarding the respiratory health of stone‐cutting workers in Bangladesh. We aimed to determine the point prevalence of respiratory symptoms, lung function status and radiological abnormalities among the stone‐cutting workers. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted among 200 stone‐cutting workers. Adult workers having a job experience of at least 3 years participated in this study. Then inquiry was made regarding respiratory symptoms with the help of a preformed questionnaire. All the participants underwent chest X‐ray and spirometry. A respiratory dust sampler was used to measure the dust concentration of the stone‐cutting factories. Results Among the 200 stone‐cutting workers, 89% (178) showed at least one chronic respiratory symptom while they had chest tightness (75.5%), chronic cough (74.5%), and shortness of breath (66.5%) as the most prominent ones. Spirometry findings revealed that the mean forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) value was 1.42± 0.65 L in the obstructive pattern, 1.43 ± 0.73 L in the restrictive pattern. The mean forced vital capacity (FVC) value was 2.53 ± 1.12 L in the obstructive pattern, 1.53 ± 0.75 L in the restrictive pattern. 42.69% of stone‐cutting workers who complained of at least one respiratory symptom had abnormal chest X‐ray findings. Those with progressive massive fibrosis had the lowest mean FEV 1 value (0.75 ± 0.50 L). While measuring workplace dust concentration, we found high particulate matter (PM) 2.5 (979.78 µg/m 3 ) and PM 10 (1298.35 µg/m 3 ) values. Conclusions Most of the stone‐cutting workers in our study exhibited different respiratory symptoms. These symptoms were associated with abnormal lung function and radiology. Further longitudinal studies are recommended to determine the actual dimension of this problem.

Background: Nationally representative data on burden of musculoskeletal conditions (MSK) in Bangladesh are not available. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of MSK conditions and related disabilities in the adult population of Bangladesh.Methods: A total of 2000 individuals aged 18 years or older were targeted from 20 primary sampling units (urban and rural) of all former seven divisions of Bangladesh in 2015. Structured interviews were done using the modified Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Disorders questionnaire to detect positive respondents. Standard criteria were used for diagnosing MSK conditions by rheumatology residents. In case of uncertainty, opinion was taken from senior rheumatologists. A Bangla version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire was used to determine disability.Results: A total of 1843 (92.1%) participated. Among them, 892 men and 951 women participated from rural (n=716) and urban (n=1127) areas. Their mean age was 40.5 (standard deviation 14.7) years. Almost a third did not have any formal schooling. Overall, 30.4% (95% confidence interval, 28.3-32.5) had MSK conditions. Low back pain (18.6%, 16.9-20.5), knee osteoarthritis (7.3%, 6.1-8.5) and soft tissue rheumatism 3.8% (2.9-4.7) were the three top-ranking MSK conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis (1.6%, 1.0-2.1), spondyloarthritis (1.2%, 7-1.8) and adhesive capsulitis (1.4%, 0.9-1.9) were relatively uncommon. Among those who had MSK conditions, 24.8% (21.3-28.6) had some degree of disability. Of them, 24.4% (21.0-28.1) had history of work loss during last 12 months. Conclusions: The high burden of MSK conditions and related disabilities in Bangladesh warrants greater attention of the health system. Further studies are needed to estimate the impact of this group of conditions particularly addressing related disabilities and loss of work.