The number of drug addicts being treated at Al-Amal hospitals has reached 72,000. This large number of patients raises two issues. First, the role which Al-Amal hospitals can play in helping those who have been rehabilitated to stay away from drugs. These hospitals should be provided with sufficient medical and administrative staff to monitor the treatment programs and prevent rehabilitated persons from using drugs again. Second, the large number of patients being treated by Al-Amal hospitals incidates that there are more patients, most likely twice that number or even more, who need help but are reluctant to get treatment for fear of being known to be drug addicts. Drug addiction is a serious problem in almost all countries of the world and a campaign needs to be launched against this social menace. Drug addict cannot be productive members of society and thus they become an extra burden on the nation. Drug addicts should be encouraged to get treatment and families should be encouraged to bring relatives who are addicted to drugs to hospitals or rehabilitation centers. Al-Amal officials should spearhead the campaign which will assure addicts and their relatives that their names and medical records will be held with strict confidentiality so that addicts will be encouraged to get treatment. Often addicts and their families are afraid to admit the problem for fear that the reputation of their families will be tarnished. Drug addiction often brings with it a social stigma. For this reason, the public should also be educated and made aware that drug addiction is often the result of serious psychological problems. The public must cooperate in this campaign to make our society more healthy and productive. __
