The University of Faisalabad has been declared as smoke and drug free by the Drug Advisory Training Hub (DATH), a non-government organisation working on abuse of drugs. In this context, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between both the organisations with an aim to restrain youngsters from the consumption of drugs which is increasing at an alarming pace.
Consultant Anti-Drug/Narcotics and Chairman DATH Syed Zulfiqar Hussain while speaking on the occasion said almost three schools, colleges and universities each have been declared as smoke and drug free campuses by his organisation. Zulfiqar said that new trends of drug addiction are increasing among the students, particularly who hails from upper or poor families.
He said they are using different pharmaceutical drugs including gutka and naswar as it is easily available in the market. To control this menace, he said, over 11000 focal persons on drugs have been nominated in educational institutions in Punjab with the help of Punjab Higher Education Department, Punjab Higher Education Commission and School Education Department. He also threw light on the role of focal persons.
He said the consumption of crystal ice, cocaine and heroin are grave concern for all of us and the problem of drug abuse cannot be solved by the government alone. According to a National Survey conducted by Ministry of NCD and UNODC in 2013, he said around 6.7 million people were using hard and soft drugs in Pakistan.
Pro Rector of Faisalabad University Dr Zaheer Javed Paracha highlighted the issue of drugs among the students and emphasised the need for devising a comprehensive policy to curb the use of drugs in educational institutions since our youth is our future in the country. "We are going to start a new journey regarding after the declaration," he remarked.
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