Updated on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, June 26: Aiming to contain the rapid spread of drug abuse in the country, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar today launched a national awareness campaign against the use of drugs.

The national drug awareness campaign to be undertaken with the partnership of United Nations Office on Drugs (UNODC) and NGOs envisages a comprehensive campaign for drug abuse prevention among young people, Kumar said after kicking off the campaign on the occasion of international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking today.

She said the target population of the campaign is the young people between 10-18 years including school going and out-of-school children.

However, Kumar said the campaign should expand into a movement in a multi-sectoral fashion involving government departments, teachers corporate sector and NGOs.

Elaborating on the need for expanding the campaign into the corporate sector, she said, "it must be understood that the substance abuse is harmful to both enterprises and workers drug abuse and alcohol abuse not only affect work performance in general, but also results in higher rates of absenteeism, accidents, illness and mortality.."

Speaking on the occasion, Gary Lewis, UNODC representative said his organisation has launched a worldwide campaign on the theme "drugs are not child's play."

"The campaign is designed to inform young people and those who have a role in shaping their lives--parents, teachers and community leaders--about the dangers of drugs, and how to keep children away from them," he said.

Children from different NGOs presented cultural programmes on the occasion that enthralled the audience.

Bureau Report