Awareness session on collaboration with Anjuman-e-Insdad Manshiat and Anti-Narcotics Force Punjab (ANF)

Awareness session on collaboration with Anjuman-e-Insdad Manshiat and Anti-Narcotics Force Punjab (ANF)

This seminar on drug abuse prevention is directly aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) # 3 Good Health and Well- being and it’s Target 3.5: Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Prof Dr Akmal Sharif, Head of Medicine Department at Madinah Teaching Hospital (MTH), informed the audience that the main aim of this day is to spread awareness about the physical and psychological impact of substance abuse, drug overdose deaths, and drugs- related problems across the globe. He further added, we need to engage our students specifically and Pakistani youth in general in healthy recreational activities so that they stay away from this menace of drug addiction.

While addressing the audience, Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmad Dogar, Head of the Psychiatry Department, Faisalabad Medical University and DHQ Hospital Faisalabad, said that many forms of addiction is accessible to our youth including digital addiction of games, social media and mobile phone addiction. An addict will never label him or herself as addict instead he will blame societal norms culture for this. He gave many recent examples of crimes committed by youngsters due to gaming addiction. He further added that we need to create awareness in parents and teachers so that they can identify early signs of drug addiction. He highlighted that it’s completely curable although relapses are common.