Media campaign to say no to drugs

Members of the Community Communications Team in Huong Hoa go to villages to propagate to people to obey the law - Photo: VTH

To join hands to push back drugs, with the support of Project 8, the Women's Union of Quang Tri province has stepped up communication campaigns to villages and hamlets in ethnic minority areas to raise people's awareness of the dangers of drugs so that they do not participate in illegal drug trafficking, transportation and use, protecting themselves, their families and society.

In recent years, drug crimes have tended to increase and become more complicated. Taking advantage of ethnic minorities' lack of knowledge about drugs, traffickers hire them to transport drugs from Laos to Vietnam for consumption. Some ethnic minorities are poor, unemployed, and some are drug addicts who transport drugs to earn money. The number of ethnic minorities who are hired to transport drugs and are discovered and arrested has increased alarmingly.

In 2024, the authorities discovered and arrested 11 cases/16 subjects, confiscating 71,368 pills, 100 kg of synthetic drugs, 35 kg of heroin (2.5 times more cases, 2.67 times more subjects, 4.6 times more drugs than in 2023). 65/358 subjects were ethnic minorities (accounting for 18.1%, 2.6 times more than in 2023).

Drugs cause negative consequences affecting human health and life. The effects of drugs not only weaken the physical but also deeply affect the spirit, family of the user and the community and society. Drug addicts can suffer from diseases related to the heart, nerves and infectious diseases. Almost all types of drugs, when abused, cause effects on the nervous system that controls the brain's conditioned reflexes. When using drugs, they cause hallucinations and a tendency to violence.

Regarding the clinical impact on the body when abusing drugs is to create lesions and reduce blood flow in the brain of patients using heroin. Drug-related crimes such as theft and domestic violence are increasing. Therefore, the fight against drugs is not only the responsibility of the functional sector but also requires the strong participation of departments, sectors, organizations, families and the whole society to reduce drug addiction among adolescents, drug abuse in ethnic minority areas, towards building a safe living environment for women, children and people in the community.

Implement Plan No. 120/KH-BTV dated March 19, 2025 of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Women's Union on implementing a communication campaign on drug prevention and control for the executive board, members of the community communication team and people in the community, to raise awareness and change their behavior on drug prevention and control.

Identifying ethnic minorities and mountainous areas as subjects that are easily lured and enticed into illegal acts of retail trading and drug transportation, the Quang Tri Provincial Women's Union coordinated with district and commune-level Women's Unions to organize a communication campaign on drug prevention and control in each commune and cluster of communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. Each communication campaign was carried out in many localities to create a spread in the community on drug prevention and control in order to propagate to every household and every person to say no to drugs and drug abuse.

In terms of propaganda content, in addition to the provisions of the law on drug prevention and control, the Women's Union at all levels focuses on directly warning subjects about the consequences, harms, and dangers of drugs, especially synthetic drugs, psychotropic substances, "disguised" drugs, mixed and marinated in food, drinks, electronic cigarettes, new generation cigarettes, shisha, etc.; methods and tricks to entice people to participate in criminal activities and drug abuse; ways to recognize, prevent skills, proactively participate in denouncing and providing information on drug abuse and crime to authorities.

The form and content of propaganda are compiled and designed by the Provincial Women's Union according to a new method that is diverse, easy to understand, easy to remember, easy to implement, suitable for each target group, region, especially border areas with a high risk of drug infiltration from outside into the country, people are often lured into drug trafficking and trafficking... Increase the application of information technology in designing propaganda articles to easily convey to all subjects.

Another important content in the communication campaigns on drug prevention and control that the Provincial Women's Union focuses on promoting is measures to bring drug addicts back to normal life. That is to propose forms and measures for drug addiction treatment such as: drug addiction treatment in the community, family and at drug addiction treatment facilities, in which besides the determination of drug addicts to quit, the family and community are the spiritual support to give more strength to quit for relatives who have fallen into the path of addiction.

The propaganda work of the Provincial Women's Union in the communication campaigns on drug prevention and control also emphasizes the way to prevent people from getting involved in drugs, which is to combine all three factors of personal determination, family and social care to create a good living and working environment.

Permanent Vice President of the Provincial Women's Union Nguyen Thi Que Phuong said: The communication campaign aims to create a strong change in awareness and raise the responsibility of all levels, sectors, families, communities, the whole society, especially women and children in ethnic minority areas in drug prevention and control.

Limit and push back the violation of the law, drug abuse, gradually prevent social evils. Thereby, contributing to building a prosperous, equal, progressive, happy and sustainable family. Organizing events ensures savings, practicality and suitability to the actual situation of the locality and brings high propaganda effectiveness.

The activities in the communication campaign on drug prevention and control will create a strong spread of responsibility of each citizen, including women in the community, so that society says no to drugs, builds a good life, prosperity, and happiness. The continuation of propaganda from the communication campaign on drug prevention and control will be "broadcast" by the Community Communication Team for a long time, to every corner of the village, making people's lives more and more beautiful every day.

Vo Thai Hoa

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/chien-dich-truyen-thong-noi-khong-voi-ma-tuy-193148.htm