Cotton University Students’ Union organized an open national webinar on International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking.
Cotton University Students’ Union, NEVARD & IAHP organized an Open National Webinar on International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking. The webinar was themed “Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Its Impact on Mental Health among Youths and Its Prevention.” The webinar was a success with an estimated registration of over 350 participants from across the country.
According to a press release, the seminar was inaugurated by Surendra Kumar IPS (Inspector General of Police, CID), who appreciated the initiative taken up by the Students’ Union, NEVARD, and IAHP. He also threw light on drug abuse and illicit trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances posing serious
Speaking on the occasion, resource person, Dr. Dimpy Mahanta, Founding Head of the Department of Psychology, Cotton University shed light on the causes, early signs of alcohol dependence, drug abuse and their impact on mental health. She also suggested Social Engineering Solutions as the ‘best approach’ for managing alcohol use and abuse.
Dr. Mahanta emphasised on the need for preventive program for Drug Abuse to include synergy between different stake holders like family, school and community. An important goal of prevention is to change the balance between risk and protective factors so that protective factors outweigh risk factors.
At the school and college level, social influence programs need to be typically designed in order to teach young adolescents necessary skills to prevent drug abuse: study habits and academic support; communication skills training; peer relationships; self-efficacy & assertiveness training; Drug resistance skills; reinforcement of anti-drug attitudes; & strengthening of personal commitments against drug abuse.
Community-based prevention programs must reach populations in multiple settings- example schools, clubs, faith-based organizations, & the media- are the most effective when they present consistent, community-wide messages in each setting.
Dr. Dipesh Bhagabati, Former Head & Retd. Professor, Department of Psychiatry, GMCH and Dr. Swapnali Das, Assistant Professor of Assamese Department of Cotton University were also among eminent speakers who spoke in detail about the various consequences of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse on the younger generation and rise in substance abuse over last few years due to blindly following western culture.
