A study shows that the number of women using methamphetamine has increased and the majority of them mistakenly believe that the drug can help make them more beautiful, reports said.
Dr Wilawan Jungprasert, head of the Department of Medical Services (DMS), told a seminar on overcomng stimulant abuse that a study by the Thanayarak institute revealed that the number of drug users has increased and is now estimated at over one million.
She said only 192,283 people had been admitted to rehabilitation programs from October 2011 to June 2012.
The doctor also said that she found it alarming that the number of females entering rehabilitation for methamphetamine abuse has increased from 2-3 % of participants in 2008 to 25% this year.
The exact numbers, she said, are 243 in 2008 and 17,100 in 2012.
Dr Wilawan said that most women addicts were drawn to using crystal methamphetamine, or ya ice, because they think that its use would make their skins fairer and their body slimmer.
“It is completely untrue,” she said.
The DMS chief warned that the drug effects the way the brain functions and can cause psychosis, hallucinations, rage to the point of hurting others or themselves, and even suicide.
Dr Jiroch Sinthawanon, deputy director of the department, said methamphetamine contains no substance which can bleach skin or reduce body fat.