National Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign

The National Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign is an annual event jointly organised by the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).¹ Held annually in June to commemorate World Drug Day, it incorporates a series of youth-oriented activities to spread the anti-drug abuse message among students and non-schooling young people. To mark the campaign, a green and white ribbon is distributed and worn as a sign of the community’s commitment to overcoming drug problems.²

Background
Since the 1970s, the government had enforced many tough laws and taken stern measures to clamp down on drug trafficking and abuse in Singapore. Despite these actions, the country continued to face a rising number of new drug addicts from the 1980s to the early ’90s. To tackle this problem, the government decided to adopt a more comprehensive strategy, with Preventive Drug Education (PDE) as one of the main strategic thrusts.³

The body appointed to oversee the programmes of the PDE is the NCADA. Set up in January 1995, the council works closely with the community, the CNB and other relevant agencies, such as the Prisons Department and Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises, to organise anti-drug activities. These include seminars and talks to educate the public on the dangers and harmful effects of drugs, dialogue sessions with community leaders to obtain views to improve the drug situation, and the annual National Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign (ADAC).⁴ The first ADAC was held in June 1995. The campaign celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015.⁵

Campaign goals and partners
The ADAC aims to garner community support for the anti-drug cause.⁶ Each year, it sets new directions for the implementation of future PDE programmes and activities.⁷

Other organisations that play a role in the planning, promotion and implementation of activities during the campaign include the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA), Singapore Police Force and the Ministry of Education. Civil and grassroots organisations that are involved include the Chinese Development Assistance Council, Yayasan Mendaki, Singapore Indian Development Association, Association of Muslim Professionals, Muslim Joint Anti-Drug Abuse Co-ordinating Committee and Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura.⁸

Campaign activities
Each year, the ADAC adopts a different anti-drug theme such as “Get smart, don’t start – stay away from drugs”, “Stay clear – drug abuse causes permanent damage to your body and mind”, and “Life is a game of choice. Choose to win”.⁹ In 2015 and 2016, the campaign’s message was “Community Togetherness” and “Drugs are addictive. Escaping is hard. Don’t start.” respectively.¹⁰

The campaign usually begins with a concert, which occasionally feature popular local and foreign entertainers.¹¹ This is followed by a suite of activity-based programmes such as exhibitions, seminars and competitions of various genres.¹² One of the longest running events of the campaign is DanceWorks!, which was introduced in 1999 to use dance as a medium to promote the anti-drug message.¹³

Other events have included an essay-writing competition for primary school students in which the winning essays were compiled and distributed as booklets together with anti-drug information, and an anti-drug art competition where students and youths used art to express their anti-drug thoughts and feelings. The campaign has also featured competitions involving model making and game design, where the winning entries were used in anti-drug collaterals or featured in CNB publications.¹⁴

Seminars and meetings provided an avenue for professionals, volunteers, self-help groups and counsellors involved in anti-drug work to meet and discuss their work. An annual meeting was also organised for teachers and principals so that they could acquire a better understanding of issues pertaining to drug abuse among students as well as discuss ways to incorporate preventive drug education into the school curriculum.¹⁵ Student leaders such as prefects and class monitors were invited to participate in some of the seminars, with the intention of grooming them to counsel their peers at risk of drug addiction. These students are considered better able to relate to their age group and to act as role models for their peers.¹⁶

Use of media
To spread the anti-drug message to its targeted groups, the ADAC has utilised various mass media that are popular with the young. Besides traditional media such as print and broadcast, the campaign has also been promoted through less conventional means.¹⁷ For instance in 2001, the CNB worked with a film distributor to include green and white anti-drug ribbons and a bookmark with anti-drug information with the sale of copies of the movie Traffic.¹⁸

In October 2016, the CNB launched its revamped “Drug Buster Academy Bus”, a mobile anti-drug exhibition bus that uses augmented reality technology to show visitors the harmful effects of drugs on the body. The bus also visited schools and the Institute of Technical Education to spread the anti-drug message. With the proliferation of social media platforms, the campaign has also been promoted through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, using the moniker “CNB Drug Free SG”.¹⁹



Author
Alvin Chua



References
1. Amrin Amin, “Anti Drug Abuse Campaign 2016: Launch of Anti-Drug Escape Game,” speech, Suntec City, 25 June 2016, transcript, Ministry of Home Affairs.
2. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs (Singapore: National Council Against Drug Abuse, 1998), 40. (Call no. RSING 362.293095957 TOW)
3. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 19–22.
4. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 37–38, 40–41.
5. “Number of Drug Addicts on the Rise,” Straits Times, 10 June 1995, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Afiq Fitri Bin Alias, “Celebrating 20 Years of Community Support for Anti-Drug Cause,” Home Team News (30 June 2015)
6. Afiq Fitri Bin Alias, “Celebrating 20 Years of Community Support for Anti-Drug Cause.”
7. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 41.
8. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 49.
9. National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 40.
10. Afiq Fitri Bin Alias, “Celebrating 20 Years of Community Support for Anti-Drug Cause”; Amrin Amin, “Anti Drug Abuse Campaign 2016: Launch of Anti-Drug Escape Game.”
11. “Andy Lau, TCS Stars To Push Anti-Drug Message,” (1996, June 17). Straits Times, 17 June 1996, 31; “Free Concert at Malay Village,” Straits Times, 25 June 1999, 4; Y. Koh, “Graduates More Tolerant of Drugs,” Straits Times, 22 June 2000, 51. (From NewspaperSG)
12. Singapore. Central Narcotics Bureau, Preventative Education Unit, Get the Party Started (Singapore: Central Narcotics Bureau, 2003), 15 (Call no. RSING q362.29172095957 SIN); National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 40.
13. Central Narcotics Bureau, “Celebrating 15 Years of Dancing Against Drugs,” news release, 22 February 2013; Afiq Fitri Bin Alias, “Celebrating 20 Years of Community Support for Anti-Drug Cause.”
14. Singapore. Central Narcotics Bureau, Preventative Education Unit, Get the Party Started, 17–19.
15. Singapore. Central Narcotics Bureau, Preventative Education Unit, Get the Party Started, 20.
16. Anti-Drug Drive – Student Leaders To Help Counsel Peers,” Straits Times, 26 June 1997, 43 (From NewspaperSG); National Council Against Drug Abuse (Singapore), Towards a Drug-Free Singapore: Strategies, Policies and Programmes Against Drugs, 41.
17. Singapore. Central Narcotics Bureau, Preventative Education Unit, Get the Party Started, 21–23; “Roadshow To Bring Anti-Drug Message,” Straits Times, 22 June 1999, 39. (From NewspaperSG)
18. Suhaila Sulaiman, “Using Traffic To Beat Drugs,” Straits Times, 5 July 2001, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
19. Danson Cheong, “New Exhibition, Social Media Image To Turn Young People off Drugs,” Straits Times, 8 October 2016. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)



The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.