Today, drug abuse among youths is a serious problem in society. Children and adolescents are also affected; therefore, there is a need to develop strategies that will help the youths to overcome the problem of drug abuse. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol, tobacco, Cocaine, and Marijuana are the most commonly abused drugs in society today. These drugs are harmful to humans, and some of them; especially tobacco and Marijuana (which are usually smoked) have adverse effects on other people (passive smokers). Community members should work with the law enforcement agencies to make sure that teenagers do not access these drugs. This will play a significant role in the war against drug abuse.
Discussion
This paper will review an article, which describes substance abuse, prevention, and appropriate treatment program.
The Global Youth Tobacco Group conducted a survey to assess various factors that influence teenagers (school pupils) to abuse tobacco among other drugs. The survey was done in several schools. A total of 1,830 male students were used as the study subjects. According to the findings, cigarette smoking among students is a serious problem that should be addressed immediately. The report said that adolescents have become active smokers both at school and at home.
The rate of smoking has increased among teenagers, and this proves that drug abuse is a serious issue in our schools. Influence from parents who are active smokers, free offer of cigarettes by adults, and the perception that smoking is not harmful to human health are among the few reasons why students are smoking cigarettes at an early age. To curb this behavior, the Global Youth Tobacco group has requested the government to severely punish those who are selling drugs to minors because the rate of smoking is relatively high in schools.
Weaknesses and strengths of the program
The weakness of the program is that it only focused on male students (as the study subjects) and did not consider both genders. The use of the survey method is a key strength of this program. This is because the survey is a relevant method considering that the interviewees were many. It is a reliable method when acquiring data where interviewees may not be willing to share information (especially because the topic relates to drug abuse). The survey is extremely convenient in gathering data.
Discuss whether you believe this program was effective and whether you would implement the program in your chosen line of work
The program was successful. The findings of this report mentioned numerous factors that have caused an increase in the use of tobacco among students. In addition to providing risk factors, the program recommended several strategies that can be employed to address the problem of drug abuse among teenagers. According to the program, the increase in tobacco smoking among teenagers should be addressed immediately. To deal with the problem of drug abuse among youths, there is a need to impose new rules and campaign against drug abuse intensively. Additionally, retailers should stop selling cigarettes to minors. These recommendations are practical and applicable in the workplace.
Community members should work together to address this problem for a healthy society. The government should use schools and religious institutions to campaign against drug abuse.