DRUGS AND ALCOHOLISM AMONG CAB RIDERS IN FCT ABUJA: A STUDY OF NUTRW BRANCH OF APO LEGISLATIVE QUARTERS

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: The connection between substance abuse and accidental injury or death has been recognized. Alcohol causes 50,000 fatalities and up to 500,000 hospital admissions yearly in the United Kingdom (World Health Organization) (2017). In the United States of America, around 10,000 fatalities were related to youth alcohol use. The World Health Organization has established a correlation between Nigerian drivers' risky alcohol use and road traffic accidents (WHO, 2017). Approximately fifty percent of accidents and their effects on Nigerian roads are attributable to alcohol use (Yunusa & Obembe 2016). Numerous studies in Nigeria have shown the widespread use of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs among commercial and long-distance drivers (Makanjuola et al, 2007b, UNAIDS 2007). Crouch, Birky, and Gust (2016) discovered that 32 percent of drivers consume alcohol before getting behind the wheel. According to the Global action on dangerous drinking, 67.2% of commercial drivers in Nigeria (from Port Harcourt and Ile-Ife) now consume drinking. 47 percent of these drivers were "heavy" users, 15.3 percent were "moderate" users, and 37.7 percent were infrequent or "mild" users. In addition, between 60 and 70 percent of commercial drivers participate in drinking and driving, according to Gboyega (2012). Alcohol (14.9 percent), tobacco (30.4 percent), cannabis (4.3 percent), caffeine (31.9%), sedatives (10.1%), and solvents were used while driving, according to Makanjuola et al. (2007). (8.7 percent ).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that billions of people, or one-third of the total population over the age of 14, had consumed so-called tobacco in the form of cigarettes, with 700 million of these smokers being males; unfortunately, these people were reported to reside in developing nations (WHO, 2004). Additionally, it has been noted that smoking often leads to the usage of hard and poisonous substances (Crouch, Birky & Gust 2016).

Drugs are generally good when taken appropriately and hazardous when overused or abused, however the majority of adolescents are substance abusers (Mohammad, 2014). In nations with great incomes, such as the United States, drug abuse is a serious public health concern. However, the issue of illicit substance use has swiftly expanded to nations of medium and low income, where the majority of their teenagers and adolescents actively engage in this unlawful habit (Aliyu, 2014; Mohammad, 2014).

Substance or toxic drug use is a medical, social, cultural, and other variable issue that is not merely of a medical or moral origin. Schmelleger (2002) asserts that due to their social and personal situations, individuals accept the use of certain substances or narcotics under particular settings as a benign and even good practice. The use of medications such as Benylin with codeine and Tutolin with codeine for medical causes, such as whooping cough, does not constitute drug abuse; it only becomes abuse when it is intended to produce desirable behaviors, physical dependence, addiction, or to create a nuisance in society.

The use of psychoactive substances while driving has been unchecked in Nigeria notwithstanding the preceding. The Federal Road Safety Corp and other civic groups have maintained their anti-drunk driving initiatives. Due to the lack of a legal foundation for defining the legal limits of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in the Nigerian Traffic Regulations, enforcement against drunk driving has sadly been ineffectual (Adekoya, Adekoya, Adepoju, Owoeye 2017). While the effects of drunk driving accidents have been documented, the repercussions of drunk driving while operating a fuel-laden truck are considerably more severe. This will include fire that often spreads beyond the area of an accident, loss of property such as homes and automobiles in innocent accidents, and damage to roadways caused by hot or melted bitumen flaking off. The eroded areas of the road quickly become potholes, which are known to cause catastrophic accidents.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

While the usual consequences of alcohol and psychoactive drug use among vehicle drivers (such as road traffic accidents, loss of body parts, and injuries) are well-known, there is a need to keep aware of other equally destructive consequences for the development of society. These will include the recognized correlation between increased high-risk sexual conduct and psychoactive substance use (Adekoya et al., 2017); and disruption of social networks owing to disturbed behavior and strained social and occupational interactions (Makanjuola et al 2007a, Laosebikan & Baiyewu 2009). Other complications include alcohol hallucinosis and dementia, hepatitis B and C, lung cancer, liver cirrhosis, and primary liver cancer, and hepatitis B and C.

In Nigeria, it is common for non-commercial alcohol to be sold in or near parking garages. They are offered as natural remedies for malaria or low back pain and are often referred to as jedi-jedi. Frequently, purchasers are uninformed of the constituents of these herbal medications, particularly the alcohol content.

Several research on the prevalence, pattern, and psychosocial correlates of alcohol and other psychoactive substance use across diverse categories and subgroups in Nigeria (Adelekan et al, 2014), including long distance vehicle drivers, have been conducted (Makanjuola et al 2007a). However, we are unaware of any published research on the effects of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs on tanker drivers. This study aims to determine the incidence of drug use and drunkenness among taxi passengers in FCT Abuja.