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classes, recreational activities and handicraft training. A “graduation ceremony" was also initiated during the year to encourage patients to complete the full course of treatment and rehabilitation.
The Alumni Association of SARDA
11 The Alumni Association of SARDA, which was founded by a handful of rehabilitated addicts in late 1967, reached a membership of 1,154 in 1976. At the beginning of the year, the association started an employment guidance scheme for voluntarily rehabilitated addicts, in collaboration with the Lions International District 303 and the Social Welfare Department. By the end of the year, 292 rehabilitated addicts have obtained employment through the scheme, while 110 have received either cash grants or loans. Apart from continuing its effort to promote mutual help among rehabilitated addicts, the association stepped up its service in preventive education work against drug abuse. It took an active part in the Kowloon City District Anti-Narcotics Campaign organized by the Preven- tive Education and Publicity Sub-Committee of ACAN, and in various publicity projects of SARDA, including seminars, radio and television programmes.
Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society (HKDPAS)
12 The Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, a voluntary welfare organization established in 1957, also runs a treatment and rehabilitation pro- gramme as one of its supporting services for ex-prisoners who have relapsed to drugs after release. During the year under review, 201 patients, including 45 women, received treatment under the programme. This brought the total number of patients treated since the inception of the programme 12 years ago to 1,402. 13 Three of the centres run by the society are at present used for the treat- ment programme, namely Tung Tau Social Therapy Centre at Tung Tau Estate, Kowloon, Yuen Long Rehabilitation Centre in the New Territories, and Rotary Hostel at Fung Wong Village, Tsz Wan Shan, Kowloon.
14 The Tung Tau Social Therapy Centre is responsible for the in-take of patients and for the after-care programme which extends over a two-year period. The Yuen Long Rehabilitation Centre provides a three-month in-patient detoxification and rehabilitation course. Rehabilitative services are provided in the form of counselling, social activities and work therapy. This centre is, how- ever, due to be phased out in the first half of 1977, in accordance with the development policy of ACAN. It will be converted into a general hostel. As far as the Rotary Hostel is concerned, it is used as an after-care institution for dischargees of the Yuen Long Rehabilitation Centre who find it difficult to live independently immediately after discharge.
15 Besides providing treatment and rehabilitation services, the society continued to contribute its efforts in the field of preventive education and publicity. One example was its active participation in the Kowloon City District Anti-Narcotics Campaign held by the Preventive Education and Publicity Sub-Committee of ACAN in November.
Chapter 13
A New Strategy for Preventive Education and Publicity
Unlike law enforcement or the treatment and rehabilitation of addicts, preventive education and publicity has tended to be the "Cinderella" of international anti- narcotics efforts and, for this reason, has not been so much in the focus of world-wide attention and debate. The message now coming over, loud and clear, from all countries with drug problems, and from international meetings where these are discussed, is that law enforcement and treatment are not by themselves enough and that, ultimately, the drug problem can only be contained through effective education and prevention measures.
2
In Hong Kong, preventive education and publicity has become an integral part of the Government's anti-narcotics programme and is playing an increasingly important role in preventing the spread of drug abuse in the community. Efforts in this field are initiated, co-ordinated and supervised by the Preventive Education and Publicity Sub-committee of ACAN. Its terms of reference and membership are shown in Appendix 7.
3 During 1976, the sub-committee formulated a new strategy which aims at widening the scope as well as increasing the cost-effectiveness of Hong Kong's long-term, anti-drug education and publicity efforts. The strategy was devised after a comprehensive review of Hong Kong's current drug abuse situation, its previous experience in anti-drug education, and the resources needed to achieve its objectives.
The new strategy
4 The new strategy has the following four objectives:
(a) to keep the drug abuse issue constantly before the public and to change
their attitudes to it—
Although drug addiction is one of the most serious social evils affecting Hong Kong, it has not hitherto attracted public sympathy to the same degree as, say, the physically and mentally handicapped. Some reasons for this are that the public may consider drug addiction to be self-inflicted and evidence of character defect, and therefore unworthy of sympathy and assistance. Others are resigned to the existence of what they see as a hopeless cause which has been with Hong Kong for over a century. It is, therefore, necessary to create an awareness of the many underlying causes of the problem and to convince the public that something can be, and is being done about both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse, and that they can, and should, help in fighting drug addiction. The changes in public attitudes in Hong Kong in recent years to such issues as corruption and a clean environment offer hope in this direction. (b) to prevent drug abuse among young people who are most exposed to the
risk of becoming drug addicts i.e. the potential addicts—
There are a number of long-term causes of drug abuse about which little can be done through preventive education and publicity. Such causes, from which other serious social problems also arise, are being dealt with by the Government in other programmes such as housing, education,
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