International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
26 June 2020
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on 26 June every year to strengthen global action and cooperation towards achieving the goal of an international society free of drug abuse. Observance of this day aims to raise awareness to fight against substance abuse as well as the unlawful trade of drugs.
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was first observed by the UN General Assembly in 1987.According to the World Drug Report 2019,Globally, about 35 million people suffer from drug use disorders and require treatment services.
Better knowledge for better care
The theme of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2020 “Better Knowledge for Better Care” emphasizes the need to improve the understanding of the world drug problem and in turn use of better knowledge to promote international cooperation for countering its impact on health, governance and security.
Drug abuse is one of the most serious health problems. Besides causing serious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis, it has several side effects. These include economic loss, antisocial behaviour such as stealing, violence and crime, social stigma and overall downfall of the society.
Drug rackets operate internationally, but some countries are trans-shipment points for drug circulation. India, possibly because of its strategic location, is more prone to drug activities including drug trafficking and local consumption. The influence of westernization, changing family structure and peer pressure are some of the reasons behind drug abuse.
National Programmes related to prevention of substance abuse and illicit trafficking
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), Government of India are involved in alcohol and drug demand reduction policies and drug de-addiction programme (DDAP) in the country.
Various e- Health web based programmes related to prevention of substance abuse such as alcohol e-Help (alcoholwebindia.in/intervention) operated by National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC),AIIMS, Delhi and m-Cessation programme (nhp.gov.in/quit-tobacco) for tobacco cessation have been initiated by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
National AIDS Control Programme (NACP): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has implemented various targeted interventions programme for IDUs such as Needle and syringe programme, and Opioid substitution therapy.
The MSJE has formulated a central sector scheme of assistance for prevention of alcoholism and substance (drugs) abuse for social defence services, which has been updated in 2015.
The Department of Revenue, Central Government acts as an administrator of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988;
The Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs functions as an enforcement agency for the NDPS Act.
The response to COVID-19 must also address needs of people with drug used disorders.
National Toll Free Drug De-addiction Helpline Number 1800-11-0031
#FactsForSolidarity
Know more about Substance Abuse- nhp.gov.in/
Drug De-Addiction Programme (DDAP) MOHFW
Related pages
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2019
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2018
References-
http://www.un.org/en/events/drugabuseday/
https://www.nhp.gov.in/disease/non-communicable-disease/substance-abuse
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2019/June/world-drug-report-2019_
