ISLAMABAD - Ministry of Narcotics Control (MNC) has launched a Youth Ambassador Programme in educational institutions across the country to educate youngsters against drug abuse.
Talking to APP, a MNC official said youth was being educated about drugs abuse from class 6 to 8 of Federal and Provincial Government schools while Rehabilitation Centres in Islamabad, Sukkur and Karachi had also been established to provide free treatment, free boarding and lodging to drug addicts. However rehabilitation centre Quetta had been closed due to unavailability of staff, he said and added around 15,289 drug addicts had been treated in these centers so far.
He said the ministry was also conducting a fresh survey to dig out the drug addicts from across the country and to treat them in rehabilitation centers.
“About 1.1 million of youth aged between 18 to 28 years are drug addicts. Ministry has conducted 352 awareness activities during last five Years across the country to aware masses about hazards of drugs,” he said. He said according to a survey conducted in Pakistan few years back showed around 6.7 million people aged between 15 to 64 years were drug addicts.
However, a medical specialist, Prof. Dr Faisal Iftikhar said the government must arrange anti-drug drive in an effort to discourage the activity.
“A survey should be conducted at National level in order to identify the factors and to find out the level of damage drugs have done so far to the society,” he said. He advised the government to also arrange awareness seminars, lectures, walks, sports events, tableaus, essay competitions, and free medical camps, advertisements to educate youth about the drug abuse.