PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO CONTROL DRUG ADDICTION AND ALCOHOLISM AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE

Disorders related to the use of alcohol and drugs significantly affect the morbidity and mortality of the population. Approximately one hundred thousand deaths per year are directly related to the use of drugs or alcohol. The rapid increase of drug use in the 1960s led to a temporary decrease in youth alcoholism, only to be followed shortly by an increase in drug and alcohol abuse. The aim of the paper is to explain the importance of preventing drug addiction and alcoholism among young people. It is also important to highlight the role of the family and society as a whole as a key link in the prevention of these addictive diseases. Having in consideration that the abuse of psychoactive substances and alcohol is a complex socio-medical and socio-pathological phenomenon, it is necessary to analyze a large number of literature and various articles, magazines, publications and brochures. The subject of this research refers primarily to the territory of the Republic of Serbia, but the experiences of other countries in the surrounding area are also considered. There are no so many researches in the field of youth alcoholism, or they are relatively rare, but due to its increasing importance, it arouses the special interest of experts in the field of alcoholism. In the past, most alcoholics were middle-aged, while alcoholism among young people was rare. Today, it is estimated that "dangerous drinking" among young people in the world is twice as high as it was in their parents' generation. One extensive follow-up study of 480 adolescents who abused alcohol and marijuana, with follow-up for 10 years, showed a high correlation between continuous intake and abuse of psychoactive substances with the transition to chronic, severe alcoholism and heroin addiction, that led to aggressive behavior, banditry, suicidal ideas and severe forms of mental disorders in the period of early adulthood. The basic idea of this paper is to connect previous domestic and foreign experiences in order to achieve a greater degree of knowledge about the possibilities and ways of preventing drug addiction and alcoholism among young people.