ILOILO CITY — The Department of Health’s office (DOH) in Western Visayas eyes a communication plan that will help them reach out to the youth sector in trying to stop if not prevent them from engaging in substance abuse.
Senior health officer of DOH 6 (Western Visayas), John Richard Lapascua, said the initiative is in response to the result of a survey conducted by the department that some youth who are into smoking and alcohol are “willing to quit” but have found difficulty looking for an avenue on how and where to do it.
Lapascua said they would like to come up with materials that will educate them.
“We will be teaching the youth how to maintain a smoke-free or alcohol-free lifestyle,” he said.
He added that so far, there are not enough materials available in the region. If there is any, they are written in English, thus they could not reach the other segments of society, such as those who are unschooled.
“We wanted it localized,” he said.
For non-smokers, the message would be to encourage them to continue having a smoke-free lifestyle while for smokers it should be “quit now”.
Substance abuse covers drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
Currently, local government units (LGUs) are actively enforcing the anti-tobacco ordinance while DOH is active in its advocacy on the ill-effects of tobacco use.
In terms of alcohol, the campaign includes the no drink and drive message, moderate drinking, and no selling to minors.
DOH also provides technical assistance to LGUs for the rehabilitation of those who are into drug abuse.
This program will be integrated into the communication plan that will be prepared as the department looked forward to having a separate material for the anti- tobacco, drugs and alcohol campaign, specifically intended for the youth population.
While statistics at the regional level are not available, Lapascua said national data show that as of 2015, 17 percent of the youth population were smokers; 16 percent were alcohol drinkers; and 25 percent were drug users.
On March 19-22, the DOH will gather communication experts from the media, the academe, and the private sector for the planning workshop. (PNA)
