UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
26 June 2006
UNODC has selected "drugs are not child's play" as the theme of its 2006 international campaign, in an effort to increase public awareness about the destructive power of drugs and society's responsibility to care for the well-being of children. The latest estimates indicate that 200 million people, or 5 per cent of the global population age 15-64, have consumed illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months. But what about kids? What about children (aged 4 to 10)?
Logos, posters and leaflets in 6 languages are available as downloads. Click here for more information.
Tik abuse still soaring in the Western Cape:
MRC Research paper of the 1 June 2006 inducates a 66% increase in just 12 months in patients seeking treatment for methamphetamine abuse. Horrifically, most abusers are aged 15 to 24 years.
Click here to read the full research paper
Figure 1: Treatment trends - methamphetamine
Figure 2: Age distribution of patients with methamphetamine as primary substance of abuse: 2004 & 2005
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The Ugly Truth: hard-hitting campaign gets results
The abuse of Tik (crystal meth) among young people in the Western Cape has reached epidemic proportions - see graph above.
In Montana in the USA, the battle against Meth abuse is making use of a new tactic - that of showing young people the ‘ugly truth’ - the actual effects that meth abuse has on a young and strong body. The Montana authorities believe that you have to fight fire with fire - and launched a campaign which uses high-impact advertising to graphically communicate the horrific risks of Meth addiction.
This campaign platform has had its critics, but has nevertheless proved very effective. Read the facts here!
The Montana Meth Project is funded by a grant from the Thomas & Stacey Siebel Foundation.
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