Alcoholics, not drug users, top GMCH de-addiction clinic charts

935 new patients with alcohol addiction recorded at clinic in three years

- Priyanka Thakur

CHANDIGARH: The drug de-addiction clinic of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, has been registering alcohol addicts more than those addicted to opioids for the last three years. Over 3,000 patients visit the clinic every year.

The psychiatry department, which offers outpatient department (OPD), indoor and emergency services to the patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), has eight beds earmarked for patients dependent on drugs in its ward on the south campus.

In 2022, the de-addiction centre's OPD saw 2,440 patients, of which 780 came for the first time. Among those 780, 295 patients were addicted to alcohol, 277 to opioids, 123 to nicotine and 39 to cannabis.

In 2023, the number rose to 3,000 and 737 were the new ones, out of whom 287 comprised alcohol-dependent patients, 272 opioids, 103 nicotine and 34 cannabis.