More students join antidrug campaign

More students join antidrug campaign

TANGERANG: A group of 805 junior high school and high school
students from Jakarta and Tangerang completed a three-day Youth
Against Drug Abuse workshop on Saturday, bringing the total
number to 2,543 students who have gone through the program.

They were the fifth group of students to complete the
workshop, held by non-governmental organization Yayasan Cinta
Anak Bangsa (YCAB) since 2001. At these workshops, students are
taught about the dangers of drugs and encouraged to live a drug-
free lifestyle.

"School-age children between 11 and 13 years old are at a high
risk of experimenting with alcohol and drugs, mostly due to a
lack of information about the hazards," YCAB campaign director
Iskandar Hukom said.

A graduation ceremony for the students was held at the Santa
Ursula High School in the Bumi Serpong Damai housing estate in
Serpong.

The executive director of the National Narcotics Agency, Insp.
Gen. Togar Sianipar, who attended the graduation, said data from
the social affairs and health ministries showed 60 percent of
drugs addicts in the country were young people.

"The agency is pursuing efforts to protect the young from
drugs," he said. --JP