It is very unfortunate that alcohol and drug abuse are still rampant in our society and continue to be the biggest challenges our country faces today. When will people learn to understand that substance abuse wrecks lives, and is never a solution to our everyday problems but worsens your already desperate circumstances?

Finding solace in drugs and excessive alcohol consumption is only a temporary measure but your problems won't go away as they will still be there waiting for you when you have sobered up. No amount of alcohol or drugs will wash away your problems.

Social ills and challenges will always be there no matter what. People need sober minds to deal with their challenges. Many families are dysfunctional or totally disintegrated because of substance abuse, which can lead to early death due to varied sicknesses that affect the addicted people. 

Promising career prospects have disappeared into oblivion like snow at sunrise just because of substance abuse. The same has happened to many promising academic careers as bright students fall by the wayside due to their drugs and alcohol habits.

There's nothing wrong with drinking if it's done reasonably without intentions of getting drunk. Our drunken behaviour as adults in the communities has also misled our kids into thinking that alcohol is a cool thing to do. Let's be reasonable with our behaviour and set a good example to the young ones.

Already, the nation has a huge crisis of addicted youth, mostly through the street drug called nyaope, which is fast tracking old age to its users. What kind of a nation we have become when the life expectancy of the youth has been reduced to 29, because that's the age the nyaope addicts kick the bucket.

McDivett  Khumbulani  Tshehla
KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga