Bad friends major reason why youth dragged into drug abuse

Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said in a tweet on his Twitter account: “Bad companion is one of the main reasons for luring the youth into drug abuse…choose your friend before choosing your path.”

He also tweeted the link of a video showing the misery experienced by a young man who was affected by drug abuse. The video ends with the sentence: “They Fooled Me.”

The Ministry of Interior launched a hashtag #They_Fooled_Me on its Twitter account. It called upon the community institutions and sectors to interact with the campaign, and participate in spreading awareness.

The campaign includes awareness activities in all broadcast and printed media, in addition to screens in shopping malls and buildings in Abu Dhabi and northern emirates of the country, along with awareness ads on TV, radio stations and local newspapers.

The campaign is organised by the Security Media Department at the General Secretariat of the Office of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, in cooperation with the National Rehabilitation Centre Abu Dhabi.

The campaign focuses on intensifying awareness through the Ministry of Interior’s websites and social media accounts, and through the public preaching (Khutbah) during Friday prayers with the aim to introduce its objectives and raise the awareness level of community individuals about the grave negative impacts of drugs.

The Security Media Department encouraged the youth and users of the social media websites to interact with the campaign. It stressed the importance of collective efforts and to involve the institutions of the society with the aim to counter this negative phenomenon through all possible means. The Department valued the cooperation of different institutions under the objectives of the campaign in order to reach to most segments of the society, and to protect our youth from behavioral deviation especially drug abuse.

The campaign aims to spread awareness on the dangers of drug abuse in general, and its impacts at the individual, family and society levels. It also aims to warn the youth below 18 years about the culture of “first trial of drugs,” and to inform the youth about the risks and destructive impacts of drugs.

The campaign advices the youth to not consume any substances unknown to them, and explains methods to identify drugs and how to counter them. It also seeks to promote the rejection of the “first trial of drugs” culture among young generations, and educate them about the emotional and financial harmful effects that an addict faces to obtain these substances.

The Ministry of Interior and concerned authorities stress that they are always available to help those who are caught in drug abuse to cure themselves and reach to safety. This aims to rehabilitate the individual and make him a productive element that serves his society and country. The campaign takes into consideration the concept of treating a drug addict like a patient, and we all share part of this responsibility, therefore we all should seek to pull addicts out of their addiction. The campaign targets youth (males-females) from the age of 12 till the age of 40.

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