Addicts in Scotland turn to drink and drugs because of the "pain" and "distress in our culture”, a leading recovery worker has claimed.

But Dharmacarini Kuladharini, chief executive of the Scottish Recovery Consortium said attempts to prevent drink and drug use alone would not solve the malaise. Scotland's obesity epidemic, high rates of suicide and smoking were all similar symptoms caused by Scots facing huge amounts of pressure, she said.

"We can focus on drug problems, but double the number of people are dying from alcohol. And more again are dying from suicide as well.

"it is like Whack-a-Mole. You tackle one problem and another pops up."

Kuladharini describes those who are addicted, self-harming, smoking, depressed, or obese as “the canaries in the mine. We are telling you there

is something invisible but toxic in the atmosphere. The canaries are giving the whole community in the mine the chance to save their lives,” she said.

"We have lost sight of what it means to be human and our values are economic ones, not human ones".

Speaking to MSPs on the health and sport committee at Holyrood, which is investigating how to prevent health problems, she said better computer systems or targets for recovery were not likely to help. "It is looking for a technical fix when what we need is a paradigm shift. People are in pain and they are likely to be using drugs to stop their discomfort and pain."

“Drugs, like alcohol, suicide and obesity are a symptom of the distress in our culture and we need to tackle that in a much more proactive way," she said.

Kuladharini claims the causes of the pain include rapid changes in the economy, fear and stress, insecure employment and housing, family break up, fragmented communities and the loss of local services. Government is not to blame, but is part of the solution along with the media, churches and communities, she added.

Other leading addiction charities backed her comments and warned that stigma and hopelessness are hampering attempts to treat those dependent on drink or drugs.

David Liddell, director of Scottish Drugs Forum, said stigma meant many people still viewed addiction as a lifestyle choice, rather than face the fact that people with serious problems were using drugs to mask the symptoms of the problems they face. Andrew Horne, director of Addaction said people were being sent to prison at great cost, rather than helping them. "we need to invest to save," he said.

Fiona Moss, of the Glasgow City Alcohol and Drug Partnership, said services needed to be better equipped to deal with the problems underlying someone's addiction. "People who support those with addictions need to be aware of trauma. If you don't address it you won't see it and you can't investigate it," she said.

Meanwhile Craig Sayers, Scottish representative of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said many drug users were leaving prison at risk of overdose and without their drug problems being addressed, and too often without housing or access to a GP. "Short sentences lead to an increased risk of overdose but don't allow any chance of meaningful work with them," he said.