Vang Vieng is known to have a problem with drugs, which are easily accessible to both tourists and local children. Locals have said that tubing and tourism are destroying the town's culture and encouraging crime among children, while loud music destroys the area's tranquility. A report on the future of tourism in Vang Vieng found that many budget tubers were "oblivious to, or uncaring about, the types of social, economic and environmental impact they are associated with." A master plan for Vang Vieng notes that local grievances include pollution, inappropriate behaviour of tourists and environmental damage. Brett Dakin, the author of "Another Quiet American", a chronicle of two years in Laos working for the tourist authority, said, "Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant, it saps a little more of the essence of a town like Vang Vieng." As of June 2014, the US State Department says that although Laos generally has a low rate of violent crime, "some tourists have been robbed and sexually assaulted". Many restaurants in the Vang Vieng area offer menu items, particularly "pizzas", "shakes", or "teas" that may contain unknown substances or opiates. These products are often advertised as "happy" or "special" items. These unknown substances or opiates can be dangerous, causing serious illness or even death. Vang Vieng's hospital recorded 27 tourist deaths in 2011 due to drowning or diving head first into rocks. Most fatalities occur on the same bar-heavy stretch of river that's less than 1 km long. In a 2012 interview with "The Guardian" newspaper, a senior doctor at the Vang Vieng Hospital, Dr Chit, said the overall figure is higher because "many fatalities are taken straight to Vientiane". In early 2012, two Australian backpackers died within a month. Dr Chit said 5 to 10 backpackers a day arrive at the local hospital with injuries such as broken bones or infected gashes, or sickness caused by alcohol intoxication or other drugs. "There are no safety measures or supervision, no helmets," says Dr Chit. "We're not equipped to treat anything serious." "The Guardian" reported that tourist deaths have brought a sense of bad karma for Laotian villagers living near the river. Today, local people avoid the river, once a part of everyday life for bathing, playing, fishing, and washing clothes.