PEER PRESSURE 'CAUSE OF DRUG ADDICTION'

KUCHING: Of 255 drug dependents identified in Sarawak up to the end of
August this year, 95% were first timers.

Disclosing this, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said
most of them said they turned to drugs because of peer pressure.

The majority of drug dependents were aged between 20 and 29 and they were
mainly hooked on amphetamines, he told a teachers' forum regarding a
drug-free generation here yesterday.

The event was organised by the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) youth
wing, which has launched a campaign to curb drug abuse, like the use of
Ecstasy pills.

Dr Chan, the SUPP president, said educating children about the risks
associated with drugs and alcohol was an important part of prevention.

However, he added, research had shown that anti-drug programmes in schools
had a limited impact unless these were backed by change in the environment
where the young people lived.