A study on the extent of drug addiction in Punjab has triggered a war of words between political parties over the claim that the number of drug addicts in the state is less than one per cent.

While the ruling Congress and main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have rubbished the study conducted by  the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has hailed the same as its findings support the party’s claim that the extent of drug menace in Punjab is less than it is made out to be for political reasons.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar has questioned the findings of the report. He said as this PGIMER study was ordered in 2015 when SAD-BJP was in power, it was possible that the combine influenced the outcome of the survey.

The AAP’s state president, Bhagwant Mann also said the survey was farce as in many villages almost all men in villages are addicts. He said what was the use of drug de-addiction centers if the problem was not serious.

The SAD, which has in the past maintained that extent of drug addiction in the state is much less that it was made out to be in the run up to Assembly elections, it was a matter of shame that Punjab Congress president Jakhar was casting aspersions on a respected institution like PGIMER, in his desperation to defend party’s vice president Rahul Gandhi’s blatant lie that 70 per cent Punjab youth were drug addicts.

SAD spokesman Maheshinder Singh Grewal said Jakhar must realise that he is also answerable to the youth of Punjab.

“You (Jakhar) must come clean and tell the youth whether you believe 70 per cent of them are drug addicts? If not you must immediately apologize to them on behalf of the Congress instead of trying to confuse the issue by indulging in deceit,” he said.

On Bhagwant Mann’s reaction, Grewal said the AAP leader had lost all credibility to even speak on this issue after being officially accused by his own party member of reeling of liquor in Parliament.
The study says while 22 lakh Punjabis are addicted to alcohol and 16 lakh to tobacco, less than 1 per cent may be hooked on drugs.The single most common substance used is alcohol (22 lakh), followed by tobacco (16 lakh).

The study team surveyed 6,398 households in all 22 Punjab districts, picking 22 cities and 22 villages in each district. The total number of respondents was 13,295, the age group 11 to 60 years.