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Time of India
17-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Toddlers addicted to spiked toddy: Post-pandemic surge alarms Telangana villages, doctors
A disturbing trend is emerging in parts of rural Telangana: children—some barely two years old—are showing signs of addiction to toddy, a traditional palm-based alcoholic beverage, reported TOI. But this isn't about innocent exposure to a mild drink. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category MBA CXO Product Management Data Analytics Data Science Data Science Operations Management others Finance Artificial Intelligence Design Thinking Healthcare Others Digital Marketing Public Policy Management Cybersecurity Project Management Leadership Skills you'll gain: Analytical Skills Financial Literacy Leadership and Management Skills Strategic Thinking Analytical Skills Financial Literacy Leadership and Management Skills Strategic Thinking Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Online MBA Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Analytical Skills Financial Literacy Leadership and Management Skills Strategic Thinking Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Online MBA Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details According to the TOI report, that's being consumed is toddy laced with strong sedatives like alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and chlordiazepoxide (Librium), substances that can cause lasting neurological harm even in adults. Post-COVID spike in paediatric addiction cases Doctors are sounding the alarm over a sharp increase in such cases since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatric patients are being brought to hospitals with classic withdrawal symptoms—seizures, high fever, persistent sleeplessness, and irritability. Live Events Psychiatrists told TOI that four to five such cases are now reported every month, a significant uptick compared to pre-pandemic times. Dr. Srinivas SRRY, head of the psychiatry department and nodal officer for addiction treatment at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal, said many of these children have been regularly consuming toddy since infancy. 'What we're seeing is deeply alarming,' he told TOI. 'Kids under 10 are being admitted with withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and sedatives they were never supposed to consume in the first place.' Cultural norms worsening the crisis In many households, toddy has long been viewed as a traditional, even harmless, drink. Parents and grandparents, unaware of its adulteration, continue to give it to children to calm them or help them sleep—especially in low-income families where both parents are out working. However, the spike in cases post-pandemic suggests deeper issues. Doctors believe that job losses, school closures, and the psychological toll of the pandemic may have led to increased reliance on toddy, even among children, to manage stress or keep them subdued while caregivers were absent.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Telangana toddy adulteration: Kids barely out of crib hooked; doctors report post-Covid rise in cases
HYDERABAD: The latest instance of toddy adulteration in Telangana, which has left seven people dead and dozens in hospital, has exposed another dark and sinister side of the drink otherwise considered less potent. Doctors are reporting an increase in the number of children being addicted to toddy that has been spiked with sedatives such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and chlordiazepoxide (Librium). You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Some of these children are as young as two years old. Having barely learnt to stand on their feet, they are brought to doctors with withdrawal symptoms such as seizures, fever and sleeplessness. Psychiatrists TOI spoke to said it is common practice in parts of rural Telangana for parents and grandparents to give their children toddy to calm them and put them to sleep. What the parents don't realise is that the toddy is often laced with sedatives. Doctors add that they are seeing a substantial increase in such cases since the Covid-19 pandemic with four to five cases being reported every month.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Telangana: Kids as young as 2 addicted to spiked toddy
Representative image HYDERABAD: The latest instance of toddy adulteration in Telangana, which has left seven people dead and dozens in hospital, has exposed another dark and sinister side of the business driving the sale of this alcoholic beverage that is otherwise considered less potent. Doctors report that an increasing number of children are getting addicted to toddy that has been spiked with sedatives like alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium). Some of these children are as young as two years old and have barely learnt to stand on their feet. They are brought to doctors with withdrawal symptoms such as seizures, fever and sleeplessness. Psychiatrists TOI spoke to said it is common practice in parts of rural Telangana for parents and grandparents to give their children toddy to calm them and put them to sleep. What the elders don't realise is that much of the toddy sold now is often laced with sedatives. Doctors say they are seeing a substantial increase in such cases since pandemic, with four to five cases being reported every month. "In rural Telangana, it's very common for the whole family, including children, to consume toddy as it is considered a traditional drink. In poor families, children are made to consume it so that they sleep when both parents are out working. So, by the time a child is seven or eight, he or she is addicted to adulterated toddy, causing irreparable damage to their young bodies," said Dr Srinivas SRRY, head of the psychiatry department and nodal officer, addiction treatment facility, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Warangal. He has treated several children under 10 with withdrawal symptoms.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Adulterated toddy turns out to be killer silent pandemic
HYDERABAD: A dulterated toddy is a silent pandemic killing many across Telangana, say police, warning that over 95% of toddy sold in the state is laced with dangerous sedatives such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and chlordiazepoxide (Librium). While Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda barely have any toddy trees, they are still home to more than 200 toddy shops. Even in districts such as Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nizamabad, Nirmal, Adilabad, and Kamareddy toddy shops outnumber toddy trees, pointing to widespread adulteration and unchecked sale of spiked toddy, official said. Fewer trees, but shops galore You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad According to officials, there are over 5,000 toddy shops in the state and many have licences only for toddy tapping, but not for making or selling. Calling for immediate action, police said selling toddy laced with benzodiazepines is no less serious than trafficking narcotics as the NDPS Act treats both cocaine and benzodiazepines equally – the commercial quantity for both is 100 grams. 'Why is the govt not shutting down these toddy compounds selling adulterated liquor and playing with the lives of people?' asked a senior official, adding this should be treated as a medical emergency and action should be initiated against cooperative societies running them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo The problem is not new as even in 2023 when police raided toddy shops and tested 66 samples, all turned out to be adulterated. 'On prima facie, the current case looks like adulteration with alprazolam. So was the incident, which resulted in over 100 getting hospitalised in Kamareddy last month. But the govt is still silent,' the official added. Doctors treating patients addicted to adulterated toddy said that symptoms, including diarrhoea, are due to multiple substances in toddy.
New York Times
12-03-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Don't Underestimate the Risks of Benzodiazepines
Victoria Ratliff, the wealthy financier's wife on season 3 of HBO's 'The White Lotus,' has a problem: She keeps popping pills. And her drug of choice, the anti-anxiety medication lorazepam, has left her a little loopy. In the show, which follows guests vacationing at a fictional resort, Victoria pairs her medication with wine, which leads her to nod off at the dinner table. Sometimes she slurs her words. When she notices that her pill supply is mysteriously dwindling, she asks her children if they're stealing them. 'You don't have enough lorazepam to get through one week at a wellness spa?' her daughter, Piper, asks. 'The White Lotus' is not the only show to recently feature these drugs. The new Max series 'The Pitt,' which takes place in an emergency department, includes a story line about a benzodiazepine called Librium. This isn't a case of Hollywood taking dramatic liberties. Benzodiazepines such as lorzepam and chlordiazepoxide are notorious for having the potential to be highly addictive. They may also come with difficult — sometimes fatal — withdrawal symptoms. The characters' misuse of benzodiazepine drugs is not uncommon, said Dr. Ian C. Neel, a geriatrician at UC San Diego Health. 'We definitely see that a lot in real life as well.' And in recent years, he added, studies have shown that it's a bigger problem than doctors initially realized. A Widely Misused Collection of Drugs The drugs, which are often called benzos or downers, are commonly used to treat anxiety, panic attacks and sleep disorders like restless leg syndrome. But they can also be used for other reasons, such as to help people manage alcohol withdrawal. Other common benzodiazepines include diazepam (Valium), clonazepam (Klonopin) and alprazolam (Xanax). Unlike antidepressants, which can take weeks to start working, most benzodiazepines can provide relief within minutes — which can comfort nervous fliers and others who need quick anxiety relief for a specific situation. But if taken for longer periods, patients can develop a tolerance within weeks of starting the drug, even when using it as prescribed, said Dr. Ludmila De Faria, chair of the American Psychiatric Association's council on women's mental health. 'That's where people get into trouble,' she added, and start to take more of the medication. 'The same dose will no longer get rid of the symptoms.' In addition, drugs like clonazepam and diazepam last longer in the body than short-acting drugs such as alprazolam. 'People don't realize that,' she said. 'So they take multiple doses and it accumulates,' which can result in people 'walking around like they have a couple of drinks in them.' All of these factors combined have led to the drugs being widely misused. In 2019, the most recent data available, pharmacies dispensed an estimated 92 million benzodiazepine prescriptions, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Research suggests that the drugs are prescribed most frequently to adults between the ages of 50 and 64. Delirium, Falls and Other Risks In 2020, the F.D.A. updated the information given to prescribers and patients for all benzodiazepines to warn about the risks of physical dependence, withdrawal reactions, misuse, abuse and addiction. Ideally, these dangers are explained to a patient before they take their first pill. But that doesn't always happen. And even if a patient does receive proper counseling, 'it's one thing to say it and then another thing to experience it,' Dr. Neel said. He said he often sees patients who are already taking a cocktail of other medicines and don't understand the dangers of combining benzodiazepines, which are depressants, with other drugs that also have sedating effects, like sleep medicine or Benadryl. And if you're going to drink alcohol or use cannabis, it's best not to have any benzodiazepine in your system. When people combine substances that have a depressant effect, it can even interfere with their breathing. The geriatric population that Dr. Neel treats is especially vulnerable because benzodiazepines are metabolized differently as we age, he added, lingering in the body for a longer period of time. As a result, older people who take them may be more prone to falls or car accidents. The drugs can also cause delirium in patients who have dementia. But the medications can be risky for people of any age, which is why they are typically prescribed for a short period of time — usually four weeks or less — and they are considered a last resort to treat a chronic condition, Dr. Neel said. A Delicate Withdrawal Process A 2019 study found that nearly 20 percent of people who take benzodiazepines misuse them. If someone develops a dependence, quitting can be difficult, in part because of the intense withdrawal symptoms. Those symptoms can include sleep disturbances, irritability, sweating, heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure and stomach problems like dry heaving. Tapering off the drug needs to be done in a gentle way, ideally under the supervision of a doctor. It's 'almost like landing an airplane, where there's a gradual descent,' said Dr. John Torous, a psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. While this is happening, he added, the patient can try different methods to get more sleep and talk to a therapist about strategies to help manage anxiety. In addition, there are other medications like clonidine, which can be used to treat the anxiety and also help with any withdrawal symptoms. In the end, it's always more effective to try to identify and address the root cause of the anxiety, Dr. Torous added. 'The benzos are giving you rapid relief in the brain but then one day wear off — that rapid relief is gone.'
