Expert calls for standardized treatment for Net addicts

BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A front-line advocate of treating Internet addiction Thursday appealed that net addicts must be taken into qualified health institutions rather than rehab camps, as China's Ministry of Health was soliciting public opinions on a draft guidance to juveniles on Internet use.

"Internet addiction is a disease, which can not be cured by military training or physical punishment," said Tao Ran, initiator of the definition on Internet addiction and director of the country's first Internet addiction clinic under the Beijing Military Command General Hospital.

The health ministry adopted the expression of "inappropriate use of Internet" instead of "Internet addiction", saying that its precise definition had not been settled yet.

The guidance propped up four principles of intervening in juveniles' inappropriate use of Internet, including no violence, no restriction on freedom and no destructive surgeries.

According to the principles, inappropriate users of Internet with certain psychiatric symptoms should turn to medical institutions for help.

"The guidance is a strong signal that the ministry has recognized Internet addiction as a mental disease, even it doesn't call it 'Internet addiction' in a straight way," Tao said.

Some Internet users in China are obsessed with the Internet, whose health and interpersonal communication skills have been impaired, the guidance said.

Juveniles addicted to the Internet should be treated in health institutions, Tao said, calling for specific laws and regulations on the treatment of Internet addiction to curb the chaotic market.

In China, juveniles account for 60 percent of Internet users, or the largest group, according to the guidance.

The number of Internet addiction treatment institutions and rehab camps has soared in the past few years in big cities, where many parents are worried about their kids' all-day-long use of the Internet.

In August, a 15-year-old boy in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region died 10 hours after his parents sent him to a local summer training camp to cure his Internet addiction. Several evident injuries were found on the dead body.

"It's dangerous that the treatment market is in a total mess. We need standards and guidelines," Tao said.