Nacada: One in six Kenyans aged 15-65 abuse at least one drug

Children are being introduced to drug abuse as young as six, even as cannabis use has almost doubled in the past five years, a new report has revealed.

The national survey by the National Campaign against Drugs Agency (Nacada) found that one in six Kenyans aged between 15 and 65, or 4.73 million people, are currently using at least one drug or substance of abuse.

Of this number, males in the same age group accounted for 3.78 million compared to their female counterparts at 949,298.

The survey involved 3,314 respondents from the 47 counties, with an individual response rate of 87 per cent.

The survey found that the use of cannabis (bhang) has increased significantly, with the number of people using the drug increasing by 90 per cent in the last five years.

Currently, one in 53 Kenyans aged 15-65 use cannabis.

Nairobi leads the regions in bhang use with a prevalence rate of 6.3 per cent, followed by Nyanza with 2.4 per cent and Coast with 1.9 per cent.

With regard to alcohol, at least one in eight Kenyans aged 15-65 years, or about 3.2 million people, currently use alcohol, with males in this subgroup accounting for 2.5 million compared to 87.35 females.

Again, Western Region had the highest prevalence of current alcohol use at 23.8 per cent, followed by Coast at 13.9 per cent and Central at 12.8 per cent.

Further analysis of trends in alcohol abuse showed that Nairobi led in terms of prevalence of manufactured legal alcohol at 10.3 per cent, followed by Central at 10 per cent and Eastern at 8.4 per cent.

The report titled Status of Drugs and Substance Use (DSU) in Kenya, 2022 revealed that while the average age of initiation for tobacco, alcohol, khat, cannabis, prescription drugs, cocaine and heroin was 16 to 20 years, the minimum age of initiation for tobacco was six, alcohol (seven), cannabis (eight), khat (nine), prescription drugs (eight), heroin (18) and cocaine (20).

Speaking at the launch of the survey, the Principal Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Raymond Omollo, said the government was committed to ending the menace of drug and substance abuse, which he said was threatening an entire generation.

"When I first went through the 2022 Drug Use Report, it struck me that we are facing a crisis of epic proportions...what was more disturbing was to know that all age groups from 15 to 65 are affected and are introduced to various substance abuses at the young age of 6 to 8 years," he said.

PS Omollo said the most illustrious years lie within the 15-65 age group, adding that alcohol, which is the most actively used, undermines the country's productivity.

The Western region had the highest prevalence of current use of at least one drug or substance of abuse at 26.4 per cent, followed by Eastern (20.7 per cent), with Nairobi in third place at 19.1 per cent.

In terms of illicit brews, Western region has the highest prevalence of current use of chang'aa at 11.4 per cent, followed by Nyanza (6.3) and Rift Valley (3.6).

For traditional alcohol, Western Region maintains its lead with a prevalence of 12.9 per cent, followed by Coast at 7.4 per cent and Nyanza at 2.2 per cent.

However, Central Region has the highest prevalence of drinking spirits at 4.1 per cent, followed by Coast at 3.2 per cent and Rift Valley at 3.1 per cent.

At least one in 12 Kenyans aged 15-65, or 2.3 million people, currently use tobacco, of which 2 million are males and 287,274 are females.The Central region has the highest prevalence rate of tobacco use at 11.9 percent. This is followed by the Coast with 10.8 per cent and the Eastern Region with 10.7 per cent.

The report also shows that one in every 28 Kenyans aged 15-65, or 964,737 people, are currently using khat, with males at 856,283 and females at 108,454. The Eastern region leads in the prevalence of khat use with 9.6 per cent, followed by North Eastern with 7.2 per cent and Nairobi with 4.9 per cent.

Prescription drugs are also abused, with one in 500 Kenyans aged 15-65 (60,407) using them without a doctor's prescription.

There is also the issue of multiple drug use, with the report finding that one in 15 Kenyans aged 15-65 (1.76 million) are currently using multiple drugs. The Coast region has the highest prevalence of this abuse at 10.5 per cent, followed by Nairobi at 8.4 per cent and Central at 7.8 per cent.

Nationally, the prevalence of alcohol abuse is 11.8 per cent, tobacco (8.5), khat (3.6), cannabis (1.9), prescription drugs (0.2), poly-drug/multi-drug (6.5) and at least one substance at 17.5 per cent.

Looking at young people aged 15-24, one in 11 (632 846) is currently using at least one drug or substance of abuse. At least 367 608 young people in the same age group are currently using alcohol and 230 130 are currently using tobacco. At least 259 954 use khat and 193 430 use cannabis.

In the same 15-24 age group, some 8,328 are using prescription drugs, while 267,454 are using multiple drugs.

The figures rise significantly for those aged 25-35, with 1.5 million currently using at least one drug or substance of abuse. Of this group, 1.13 million currently use alcohol, while 488,845 use tobacco. At least one in 21 young people aged 25-35, 388,735 currently use khat and 174,142 use cannabis. In addition, some 19 112 young people in this age group are currently using prescription drugs, with 494 218 using multiple drugs.

The survey also identified depressive disorders in the population aged 15-65, showing that 8.3 million Kenyans have minimal depressive disorders, followed by 4.1 million with mild depressive disorders.

Those with moderate depressive disorders number 633,330, with at least 209,582 having moderate depressive disorders.

The report also showed the link between depressive disorders and drug and substance use. The risk of developing a depressive disorder is 2.3 times higher among alcohol and cannabis users than among non-users. This is followed by tobacco and multiple drug users, who have a doubled risk of depressive disorder compared with non-users, and then khat, which increases the risk of depressive disorder by a factor of 1.7.

In terms of addiction, alcohol tops the list with 1.35 million people aged 15-65, or 42.4 per cent of users, dependent on it. At least 887,627, or about 38.8 per cent of tobacco users, are addicted; another 227,744, or 22.2 per cent of users, are addicted to khat; and 234,855, or 47.4 per cent of users, are addicted to cannabis.

Nacada chairman Stephen Mariori said the survey, which was conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, will be used to guide the agency's interventions in its efforts to promote healthy lifestyles and set strategies to reduce the demand for drugs and substances used.

"We are also working with the national government to establish rehabilitation centres in the 47 counties to help us deal with the challenge of alcohol and drug abuse, which is really huge," he said.

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