Resumen

GUTIERREZ RAINA, Daniel  y  HERNANDEZ MELENDEZ, Edelsys. Implication of ethical and moral values in facing addiction in the young people. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2008, vol.34, n.4. ISSN 0864-3466.

Use of addictive substances is a serious and complex social phenomenon since it is a health problem directly related to the family and education. The concern about alcohol and drug consumption in the Argentinian Republic led the Department of Programs for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and Fight against Drug Traffic under the Presidency of the Nation to perform a study on the national prevalence of use of psychoactive substances in the last 30 days before administering a survey to individuals aged 16-64 years. The study yielded the following result: 72.5 % of the population took alcohol or smoked, 2.9 % used illegal drugs and 1.2 % psychoactive drugs without any medical prescription. This study confirmed the importance of an in-depth analysis of this population segment's realities, putting emphasis on the students whose knowledge about the consequences of drug use and abuse has not led them to change their attitude to face this problem. Also, the young people are living a period of life that allows working with them from a social perspective and show them the ethical principles supporting the value of life. This is the reason why the present paper was aimed at analyzing the problem of use of addictive substances from an ethical/social standpoint, with emphasis on ethical aspects that should be considered in approaching addiction problems.

Palabras clave : Ethics; addiction; addictive substances; values.