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social welfare and recreation and sports. Broadly speaking, there are, however, two major short-term causes of drug abuse about which the community may be able to do something; these are addicted friends and various forms of frustration.
Addicted friends are, by and large, the immediate cause of inition into drugs. Evidence can be found in SARDA's 1974/75 Annual Report which states that among 2,191 addicts who were admitted for the first time to Shek Kwu Chau that year, 1,869 (85.3%) claimed that they first learned drug abuse from addicted friends. Of the remainder, 165 (7.5%) learned from co-workers. The other percentages are negligible. Other SARDA statistics show that most addicts took drugs for curiosity, fun, kicks, and to gain group acceptance.
Data culled from the Central Registry of Drug Addicts suggest that frustration with or dissatisfaction arising from environmental conditions such as over-crowded living and working places, are contributory causes of drug addiction. From the Register, we note that most addicts have little schooling, live in densely populated areas and are employed in dead-end jobs that offer relatively low salaries and few promotion pro- spects. To those living in such circumstances, the facts of life are undeniably hard, and the future must often appear bleak.
So it seems likely that young people, particularly those with little educa- tion and from under-privileged backgrounds, are likely to become addicted because of their contacts with friends who are already drug abusers, and who act as germs spreading the disease, and also because of their desire to try something which might enable them to forget the frustration and disappointment in their everyday lives. It must, however, be noted that as the great majority of young people in Hong Kong in such circumstances do not become drug addicts, some of those that do may well be pre-disposed, by inherent personality or character problems, to escapism through drugs.
(c) to inform existing drug addicts of the voluntary treatment and rehabilita- tion facilities available and to encourage them to come forward for
treatment-
It has been said that drug addiction is a chronically relapsing condition. But this does not deter the Government from taking practical initiatives to try out new treatment and rehabilitation methods, and to advise addicts, on a repetitive basis, of the various forms of treatment, counsell- ing and other help available to hem from both the Government and voluntary agencies, and where it can be obtained. There is also a need, from time to time, to have publicity for new developments particularly designed for the longer-term addict; the opening of 16 new detoxification centres in 1976 in all parts of Hong Kong is a recent example of this. The principal objective here is to encourage and persuade as many addicts as possible to come forward and receive treatment. The concern of the Government and the public is stressed, and likewise the part that addicts themselves must play if the help offered is to be effective. (d) to keep the international audience aware of Hong Kong's anti-drug actions,
achievements and intentions-
It is recognized that it is not only necessary for Hong Kong to pursue effective supply and demand reduction programmes, but to be clearly
seen to be doing so by the outside world. In this respect, the corner- stone of our efforts is the United Nations, and in particular the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (which Hong Kong attends as an adviser
he U.K. delegation). Our publicity programmes in this field are closely Inked with our participation in international meetings, conferences and seminars, all of which offer an opportunity to put over Hong Kong's successes and problems in the context of the international effort against drug abuse and drug trafficking.
Hong Kong has, for some time, been increasingly used by the United Nations and its agencies for the training of law enforcement officers and those involved in treatment and rehabilitation from various countries in Asia. This says much for our standing in these fields, and contributes to making our efforts more widely known. Steps are being taken to further develop the Hong Kong Narcotics Report and other publications as a means of publicizing the work being done here.
The two-pronged approach
5 Having formulated its new strategy and objectives, the Preventive Education and Publicity Sub-committee of ACAN review its methods and techniques in the prevention of drug abuse among potential addicts. To help devise an effective work programme in this area, the Information Services Department employed consultants to carry out two surveys-one among a representative sample of the adult population in Hong Kong and the other among a representative sample of potential addicts. The former was aimed at finding out the views of the public on the past performance of the Government's anti-drug publicity while the latter was aimed at assessing the knowledge of potential addicts in drugs as well as the general pattern and characteristics of their daily life. In addition to these two surveys, the department commissioned an advertising company to advise the sub-committee on the ways and means of dissuading potential addicts from drug abuse through advertising techniques.
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Subsequently, the sub-committee decided that a two-pronged approach should be adopted in its future publicity efforts. On the one hand, advertising will be used to counteract the influence of existing drug addicts who try to introduce the evil habit to their friends. This is because "peer group influence" is, by and large, the predominant cause of drug abuse in Hong Kong. On the other hand, publicity and educational efforts have to be made to encourage potential addicts to divert their energy and interest to activities which are meaningful, realistic and easily attainable. This is necessary as it is recognized that any attempt to dissuade them from trying drugs, without offering them acceptable and attractive alternatives at the same time, will have little success.
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In accordance with the strategy and publicity approach outlined above, the sub-committee has drawn up plans for four inter-locked publicity campaigns to be carried out during the coming year. The campaigns will work towards the four policy objectives as stated in paragraph 4.
Publicity and preventive education projects in 1976
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While reviewing its strategy and methods of publicity and preventive educa- tion, the Preventive Education and Publicity Sub-committee of ACAN continued its work at the operational level actively during the year under review. Assisted
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