Kuwait: There is an increasing relationship between narcotic abuse and injuries caused by traffic accidents in Kuwait, said an orthopedic surgeon on Sunday.
Consultant and head of the orthopedic ward at Al-Razi Hospital Dr. Mishal Al-Hadhoud in an exclusive interview to KUNA that driving under the influence of drugs was becoming more predominant in recent years.
Some illicit drugs increase violent tendencies and having that on the road was extremely hazardous, he affirmed, noting that injuries caused by traffic accidents related to drug abuse were horrific.
Despite no clear-cut correlation between drug abuse and traffic accidents, there were an increasing number of accidents due to driving under the influence in Kuwait, indicating the doctor who gave a rough estimate.
In this context, the Kuwaiti doctor pointed out that it is uneasy to check patients' drug use since this matter requires necessary pieces of legislation and laws.
He noted that some countries have stiffened penalties for traffic law-breakers as a successful approach of reigning in recklessness and over-speed in a bid to ensure the safety of people, given seriously increasing car accidents.
The physician called for establishing a registry to state the cause of accidents in Kuwait to have a better picture of the situation and determined what was needed in terms of laws and preventative measures to curb the number of accidents caused by drug abuse.