Sticking heads in sand on addiction means fooling ourselves - Health Minister

However as small as Malta is, he went on to say, “it is blessed with human resources, men and women who are willing to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

Speaking during a conference in Qawra at an Addictions Conference, Cassar emphasised how, like all other medical fields, “this area of medicine is constantly changing and developing.” He encouraged the assembled professionals, “particularly the psychiatric nurses, to keep abreast of such developments and to be bold enough to lobby towards the implementation of new practices for the good of all our patients and clients.”

“Our constant struggle in health is definitely prevention. If ever there was an area where prevention must be at the forefront of all policies and strategies, addiction is definitely the one,” Cassar said.

Although historically, addictions have been associated with psychoactive substances which alter the mind like alcohol, tobacco and drugs, today, “many feel that the definition of addiction may be extended to include psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, video games, work, shopping and spiritual obsession,” he said.

Cassar pointed out that if we are to define addictions on the basis of the feelings they cause (guilt, shame, fear, hopelessness, failure, rejection, anxiety or humiliation) “then the list of addictions is definitely extensive and finding ways of preventing such addictions is no small task.”

He said that this represents a mission “which can only be achieved through education at the very early stages of our children’s lives.”

However, Cassar said that he feels that there is much more that can be done and must be done “with the older teens who, in their efforts to become assertive adults, often fall victims to addictions which are easy to acquire but very hard to overcome.”

“Our society has full responsibility towards the prevention of addictions because problems related to addictions are not just personal problems. We all know that there is an obvious link between addictions, violence and crime.”

“By sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that the problem is not ours, we are simply fooling ourselves,” Cassar said. However as small as Maltais, Cassar said, “it is blessed with human resources, men and women who are willing to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society.”

He encouraged the assembled medical professionals to be aware of their role and responsibility within society “which is no longer being challenged by addictions but is being bombarded from all sides and angles.”