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