Substance Abuse and Unemployment connection
Something that caught my mind yesterday was seeing a report stating that “Sikkim’s suicide rate was highest in India being 37.5 per 100,000 people in 2015. That’s not just more than triple the Indian average of 10.6 but way above the global average of 11.4. Sikkim’s unemployment rate is also India’s second highest (after Assam), more than three times the national average of 5%, and the state reports widespread drug abuse “. Despite of being India’s third-richest state (after Delhi and Chandigarh), by per capita income and literacy rate in India being seventh highest, India’s first open defecation-free state, the country’s first and only organic state and state with the best working conditions for women Sikkim tops the list. The primary reason for substance abuse being foremost in Sikkim could be none other than Unemployment in Sikkim.
27% of Sikkimese who committed suicide were unemployed and about 21% were into substance abuse, If that doesn’t make the correlation clear enough, consider these facts:
• States with higher unemployment rates tend to have higher rates of drug use.
• Each 1% increase in the unemployment rate increases alcohol abuse by 17% and drunk driving by 35%.
We will never truly break the cycle of substance abuse and unemployment feeding into one another unless we attack it at both ends. In addition to providing education, resources, and treatment to those recovering from an addiction, we must create more opportunities for the unemployed to escape poverty and return to work.
“Among those who are unemployed, the leisure effect is dominating the income effect. We find that when the unemployment rate increases, all else equal, drinking increases.”
It doesn’t matter what side of the “chicken or egg” argument you sit on, nothing changes the fact that there is a definite correlation between unemployment and addiction. When you compare the unemployed to full-time workers, it is easy to see that those who are out of work have a greater chance of being addicted to drugs or alcohol.
27% of Sikkimese who committed suicide were unemployed and about 21% were into substance abuse, If that doesn’t make the correlation clear enough, consider these facts:
• States with higher unemployment rates tend to have higher rates of drug use.
• Each 1% increase in the unemployment rate increases alcohol abuse by 17% and drunk driving by 35%.
We will never truly break the cycle of substance abuse and unemployment feeding into one another unless we attack it at both ends. In addition to providing education, resources, and treatment to those recovering from an addiction, we must create more opportunities for the unemployed to escape poverty and return to work.
“Among those who are unemployed, the leisure effect is dominating the income effect. We find that when the unemployment rate increases, all else equal, drinking increases.”
It doesn’t matter what side of the “chicken or egg” argument you sit on, nothing changes the fact that there is a definite correlation between unemployment and addiction. When you compare the unemployed to full-time workers, it is easy to see that those who are out of work have a greater chance of being addicted to drugs or alcohol.
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