The reason for being in school is to be informed and gain knowledge to enable students live life and not to be involved in social ills. Abortion and drug abuse are common social ills in our academic environments. Akanbi, (2015) observed that drug abuse by students has become an embarrassing occurrence to parents school, government authorities and the society at large. In the same manner, Uthman, (2017) decried the prevalence of abortion among adolescent girls in Nigeria. Drug abuse and abortion are social ills with serious implications for the individuals concerned and the society and unfortunately, the groups that are mostly affected are then youth and not just the youth but those that are in the tertiary institutions.

1. OLUSHEUN EKUOYE
POLYTECHNIC LIBRARIAN
AUCHI POLYTECHNIC AUCHI
THE IMPLICATIONS OF
DRUG ABUSE AND
ABORTION ON
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
BY

2. Background
Introduction

3. The reason for being in school is to be informed and gain
knowledge to enable students live life and not to be involved in
social ills. Abortion and drug abuse are common social ills in our
academic environments. Akanbi, (2015) observed that drug
abuse by students has become an embarrassing occurrence to
parents school, government authorities and the society at large.
In the same manner, Uthman, (2017) decried the prevalence of
abortion among adolescent girls in Nigeria. Drug abuse and
abortion are social ills with serious implications for the
individuals concerned and the society and unfortunately, the
groups that are mostly affected are then youth and not just the
youth but those that are in the tertiary institutions.

4. The topic is therefore very timely: THE IMPLICATIONS OF DRUG ABUSE AND
ABORTION ON ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES.
The following questions come to mind:

5. Does the effect on me have
any implication?
What is abortion?
What is drug abuse?
How does it affect me ?
QUESTIONS
How does it affect my academics ?

6. School times are perhaps the most memorable time in every
individual’s life time. This is because it is always filled with
experiments, fun, frolic, happiness, bitter-sweet experiences.
Youthful times are period to pursue your dreams and even
take risk or waste time without knowing it. At this stage,
there are so many social problems that the youth faces. Drug
abuse and abortion are some of them. Drug abuse and
abortion have financial and emotional implications for
students. Added to these are negative implications and some
obvious academic challenges which lead to detrimental effect
on academic performance.

7. What is drug abuse?

8. Also known as substance abuse is defined by Wikipedia (2019) as a
“patterned use of a drug in which the user consumes the substance in
amounts or with methods which are harmful to themselves or others and is
a form of substance-related disorder”.
Drugs that can be abused
All drugs and illegal drugs
Drinks and illegal drinks

9. Effect of drug abuse
Decreased memory and cognitive abilities

10. Respiratory, heart rate and blood
pressure problems Chest and lung pains
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain
Impotence

11. Frequent illness Hangovers and blackouts
AggressiveLoose friends

12. Kidney and liver damage and diseases like HIV, hepatitis
Seizure, stroke, brain damage
Changes in appetite Constipation

13. Sleep changes
Suicidal tendencies
Death

14. The implications of the effects above to a student are
obvious. According to Tracy, (2012) drug abuse leads to
decreased and poor performance in school which again
will lead to disciplinary action and possibly, expulsion.
Akanbi, (2015) also opined that adolescents who abuse
substances do more poorly in academics because it
decreases their ability to concentrate and makes them
less likely to attend classes or keep up with their
studies.

15. What is abortion

16. Wikipedia (2019) defines it as “ending of a pregnancy by removal or
expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the
uterus”. Abortion is the deliberate termination of pregnancy. And
because it is deliberate, there is usually the need to abuse drug for
some relief.
Effects of Abortion:

17. Reproductive organ damage
Abdominal swelling and back pain
Bleeding
Uterine perforation, Scaring of the uterine lining
Cervical tears
Vaginal smelling discharge
Pelvic infection
Ruptured ectopic pregnancy
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Effects of Abortion:
The effects can be short term and long term.

18. Headaches
Fever and chills
Cancer
Infertility, sterility
Mental problems: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder
Post abortion syndrome
Dizziness
Tiredness
Sweating
Eating disorder
Insomnia or night mares

19. Regret
Anger
Shame, loss of self esteem
Sense of loneliness
Loss of self confidence
Suicidal thoughts
Death

20. It is said that even the birth of an unplanned child
is often traumatic, but abortion seems to be more
traumatic hence “abortion is a risk factor for
subsequent mental illness when compared with
childbirth” (Bellieni & Buonocore, 2013).

21. Implication on academics

22. Late to class
Sleep during class
Drowsy in school
Inability to concentrate and comprehend
Pains that won’t allow concentration
Affects your grades
Drugs help you decide to leave school

23. Reduces your IQ
Makes you absent minded
Makes you absent from school
Makes you drop from school
Failure
Death
Waste time
Dead people don’t write exams. Dead people don’t pass or make
plans or have ambitions. And for those who survive it, the
implication is huge. Even the bank accounts would also have been
affected.

24. Recommendations

25. If you are not into drugs and abortion, stay away from them. And if you are
into them, getting out of them can be very difficult but not impossible. The
earlier you come out of them and get along with your academics the better.
Here are some recommendations:
Talk to someone reliable about your challenge
Connect with understanding peers
Learn musical instruments
Get involved in regular exercise

26. Get involved in religious activities
Befriend the library
Build your self confidence
Think positively
Get good regular sleep

27. Conclusion
Drug abuse and abortion among students is a major social problem
in Nigeria that must be eradicated. Though government through
NDLEA and some non-governmental organizations are doing much,
much more still needs to be done. On the part of the institution, the
counseling units of every tertiary institution need to be reinforced.
And to the students, the knowledge of the implications of drug
abuse and abortion should caution every student. Face the purpose
for which you are here. Drug abuse and abortion have serious
academic, financial and emotional implications for students.

28. Reference
Akanbi, M.I. & others (2015) “impact of substance abuse on academic performance among adolescent
students of college of education in kwara state, Nigeria.” journal of education and practice. Vol. 6,
no.28. www.iiste.org
Bellieni, C., & Buonocore, G (2013) Abortion and subsequent mental health: review of the literature.
Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 67(5), 301 – 310. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Tracy, N (2012) Effect of drug abuse, Healthplace. http://www.healthplace.com/addiction/drug-
addiction/effects-of-drug-abuse Retrieved on 7/29/2019.
Tracy, N (2012) Effect of drug addiction (physical and psychological), Healthplace.
http://www.healthplace.com/addiction/drug-addiction/effects-of-drug-addiction-physical-and-
psychological Retrieved on 7/29/2019
Tracy, N (2012) what is drug abuse? Drug abuse information Healthplace.
http://www.healthplace.com/addiction/drug-addiction/what-is-drug-abuse-drug-abuse-information
Retrieved on 7/29/2019
Uthman, Saheed (2017) “prevalence of abortion among adolescents girls in Nigeria”
http://www.myschooltrick.com2016/05/prevelence-of-abortion-among-adolescent-girls retrieved on
8/1/2019

29. THANK YOU