Local councillors and healthcare professionals in Zimbabwe are expressing concern about the growing trend of young people consuming large amounts of sugar after excessive alcohol or drug use.
Alcohol and substance abuse have become increasingly prevalent, particularly among unemployed youths.
Bulawayo Councillor Greater Gumede of Ward 16 blamed unemployment and lack of opportunities for pushing young people towards these destructive behaviours.
“I notice that some of them should be employed but they don’t have jobs, something is pushing them to do drugs, they think spending the day intoxicated is the solution but thus not it as they are destroying their bodies,” said Cllr Gumede.
Youths often resort to high sugar intake after intoxication, believing it to be an energy booster to counteract the effects of drugs or alcohol.
Cllr Gumede said the potent illicit alcohol known locally as “intshengu” harms users’ health and called for the arrest and prosecution of those who sell it.
Dr Wellington Ranga, Clinical Director at Ingutsheni Hospital, said excessive sugar consumption is a misguided attempt to address the low blood sugar caused by alcohol abuse and malnutrition.
“It is more like they want to cure a hangover, what happens is that when they take those things, they don’t eat as much as they are supposed to, so most of them end up with low sugar, but it also comes from repeated use of alcohol, they end up having low vitamins, low sugar and low everything, so these days they are coming up with concoctions to add sugar, some are now even adding vitamins to the drugs so that they wake up or recover from the hangover,” he said.
He warned that these “short-term solutions” create long-term health problems.
