Lebanese Youth: Drugs, Alcohol and Smoke.

[Dalzi]

Originally Posted by Abufijli

That is a very simplistic view on the issue which does not stand a chance in real life.

There are kids out there who have wonderful parents yet you see them meddling in drugs.... I know of many.

The real problem is much deeper than this, it has a lot to do with our generations search for instant gratification, and our love of individualism, add to that high unemplyment, lack of oppurtunity, disdain with the world they live in and you start getting the picture.

Yes, you have a point. However, the majority of lost kids have bad parents; not all of course.

Originally Posted by Zouxi

smoking is a very bad habbit indeed, everymore smoker should abstain from it as of now

2enta ma feek te23od 3a2el abadan!

[Abufijli]

Originally Posted by Dalzi

Yes, you have a point. However, the majority of lost kids have bad parents; not all of course.

That may have been the case a while back, but today this is not necessarily true....

[CPL]

If someone smokes and takes soft drugs and alcohol wisely, that doesn't mean that their parents are careless. At least my parents were not careless, and here I am, I have had a very good education with a very good job and many other interesting things... and boy you should have been with us 2 days ago when we drank half a ton of beer and each smoked 2 packs each and a few joints, that was something you would definitely enjoy. der FPBer would attest.

Let us not put the problem of society on smoking or "falatein" as many people try to frame it. That is NOT the problem with the society, the problem with the society is the close mindedness, predetermined judgment, and shallowness. I am so proud of my parents, and I am sure they are so proud of me for raising a rebel with eyes wide open and not a sheep. The careless parent is the one who doesn't allow his child to bloom.

And I definitely am not lost and helpless.

[Mona Lisa]

I think the main issue these days is Peer pressure. So whether the parents are attentive, caring and available, at a certain age peer pressure takes the lead. So kids just to show off as cool and be accepted by their friends smoke, or go for arguileh which is worst than smoking for a 13-14 kid, and some take the extra step and do drugs.

Some schools are launching drug awareness campaigns but there should be a mentality change for the society as whole. And the gvt. should really focus on drug dealers instead of concentrating on its survival.

Last week a very young 18 years girl died of an overdose.

[General my General!]

The main problem for smoking in Lebanon (as well as others) is the Tobacco Industry.

Cigarettes are addictive, they are nothing but a nicotine-delivery-device.

The best method to reduce prevalence of smoking among teenagers and the poor is by TAXATION. Interestingly, these are the 2 groups of ppl most harmed by tobacco.

But cigarettes cost nothing over here compared to other countries. It's a joke! really! Of course advertisements are influential, but hey, philip morris decided that they already have the largest share of customers in Lebanon, they decided 'in good will' (yeah right) to not advertise on television anymore. That's why most ads today are for gauloise and kent...as they are aiming for a higher share of the market.

Bottom line is, Taxation, thats the way. We'd be saving a lot of lives if the price of cigarettes doubled or tripled in Lebanon.

Cheers!

[Dalzi]

Originally Posted by CPL

If someone smokes and takes soft drugs and alcohol wisely, that doesn't mean that their parents are careless. At least my parents were not careless, and here I am, I have had a very good education with a very good job and many other interesting things... and boy you should have been with us 2 days ago when we drank half a ton of beer and each smoked 2 packs each and a few joints, that was something you would definitely enjoy. der FPBer would attest.

Smoking is something anyone does ya CPL, you could be a Mufti or a Priest, yet you smoke. It doesn't bring your "morality" down as it doesn't affect your brain. Drinking alcohol wisely is also the same. As for drugs and wisely, well, they contradict. Anything that takes away your consiousness is plain stupidity not wisdom. You had parents to care for you and bring out the best in you, they probably smoke and drink too, that doesn't make them "bad" people. The others we're talking about are the ones who resort to such habits at an early age whereby they get addicted, and consequently become less attentive to important things in life because they have no one there around them. What saves us inspite of some habits we could develop is what you just mentioned up there, parents who are not careless. If my son or daughter is drinking and smoking by the time s/he's 9 years old, then surely I must be one hell of a retard to have brought him/her up as such. If I'm not a retard, I would at least be able to control a kid.

Let us not put the problem of society on smoking or "falatein" as many people try to frame it. That is NOT the problem with the society, the problem with the society is the close mindedness, predetermined judgment, and shallowness.

Falatein is not a problem? lol How many a "faltein" ends up becoming a proper person in society? End of the day, s/he is in jail, in fanar (if s/he can make it there), in rehab, or in the grave.

I am so proud of my parents, and I am sure they are so proud of me for raising a rebel with eyes wide open and not a sheep. The careless parent is the one who doesn't allow his child to bloom.

And I definitely am not lost and helpless.

Again, you had parents. Most of those lost and helpless kids have a father who's either in ***** houses or knocked out of consciousness, or a mother who's busy with her morning coffee, boyfriend, or shopping. Alternatively, parents are close minded lunatics, and that's even more dangerous. Attentiveness doesn't mean jailing the kid, it means guiding him/her. I was on my own when I was a teenager, yet i've never made a wrong decision. I don't have a sword over my neck, but I have the best parents one can ever have. I knew how to differentiate between what was good for me and what wasn't. In the end it's your life which you could either build properly or destroy, why destroy it? My parents never approached me directly, they had their special ways to deal with a rebellious spirit. They never told us anything when it came to politics nor religion. When I used to ask my father about politics, he used to tell me "look around you and conclude". You have to experience to know. As for religion, well both my parents needed a lot of educating (and still do :D).

At least make sure your kid knows what's best for him/herself; that's all you need to do. When I was 16, I thought I was Socrates resurrected! (which definitely I wasn't/am not ). It's always good to have parents around you, especially when you're still young; certain ages are very dangerous.

So in short, yes the parents are to blame most of the time for wreckless children. You get a white paper and the first pen is in your hands.

[General my General!]

Tobacco is more dangerous to society than any and all other drugs combined. It is just fascinating that in the 21st century such a product is still allowed, and its all thanks to the tobacco industry, politicians' self-serving interest, and the general public's ignorance of lack of attention.

The influence of parents is real, but even more so is peer-pressure. The industry uses this, and markets heavily to children and youth. The most effective way to combat this is through strong anti-tobacco policies, from taxation to passive smoke laws.

So long as the price of cigarettes is so cheap in Lebanon, there will not be any significant dip in smoking prevalence. And that's just cigarettes...forgetting the second big elephant in the room - Narguileh.

Still this doesn't mean people cannot do small steps here and there. I wonder if FPM or any other party or group is planning to do anything on World No-Tobacco Day May 31st ... would be interesting...and something besides plain politics for a change.

[Inanna]

the civil war is one of the main reasons why morality starts to vanish, i once heard an expert saying, if you want to destroy the values, you have to introduce bad manners that only come with a war!

[SeekNirvana]

Skoun lance un projet pour un plus grand respect des droits des toxicomanes

Source: L’Orient le jour
L’addiction à la drogue : une maladie, pas un crime

Fortement marginalisé, le toxicomane est trop souvent encore considéré au Liban comme un criminel, non comme un malade. Pour remédier à cette marginalisation, le centre Skoun a lancé, en collaboration avec l’ordre des avocats de Tripoli, un projet intitulé « Vers un plus grand respect des droits des toxicomanes ». Ce projet, qui s’inscrit dans le cadre du programme Afkar 2, financé par l’Union européenne et géré par le bureau du ministre d’État pour le Développement administratif, a pour objectif d’accroître le respect des droits des toxicomanes en situation de conflit avec la loi.
Il a été lancé mardi au cours d’une conférence de presse qui s’est tenue à l’hôtel Crowne Plaza, à Hamra, en présence d’un grand nombre de personnalités sociales, d’avocats, de juges et de membres de la brigade des stupéfiants.

Membre de Skoun, Mme Chantal Chédid a présenté le centre et souligné l’importance de la collaboration entre l’Union européenne et Skoun qui a débuté avec le programme Afkar 1. « Notre collaboration avait déjà commencé dans un projet antérieur, dont l’objectif était de susciter au sein des écoles publiques libanaises une prise de conscience sur les effets et les dangers des différentes substances psycho-actives », a-t-elle rappelé.
Mme Maha Houssami, responsable du département de prévention dans Skoun et coordinatrice du projet, a expliqué que celui-ci vise à « sensibiliser le public et les parties concernées sur la condition des toxicomanes et, plus encore, à aborder leur situation dans le sens d’un accompagnement psychologique et de suivi, et non d’exclusion ». Pour elle, il ne faut pas que ces personnes soient « victimes d’une société injuste et d’une loi injustement appliquée ». « Une bonne application de la loi de 1998 va dans le sens du projet et de son esprit », a-t-elle ajouté. Celle-ci stipule que les toxicomanes doivent être considérés comme des malades ayant besoin d’un traitement et non comme des criminels.
Toutefois, si un toxicomane est arrêté pour délit de consommation, il risque la prison. Le juge peut décider de l’orienter vers un centre de soins lors de sa première arrestation, mais ceci n’est pas systématique.
M. Nizar Saghieh, conseiller juridique du projet, a insisté sur la nécessité d’appliquer la loi de 1998 dans la mesure où celle-ci aiderait le toxicomane à avoir une chance d’en finir avec l’addiction. « Si ce texte est appliqué, les avocats et les juges seront amenés non plus à juger et à punir les toxicomanes, mais à les comprendre, à les aider et à respecter leurs droits », a-t-il observé.
Le projet prévoit des séminaires de sensibilisation adressés aux chefs des postes de gendarmerie et aux agents de la brigade des stupéfiants, des tables rondes pour les juges, des ateliers de formation pour les nouvelles recrues de la police et des actions de lobbying auprès des institutions et des parties influentes (juges, médias, ministères, parlementaires et grand public). La durée de ces activités s’étendra jusqu’en juillet 2009.
Mme Youmna Goraieb, représentante du ministère d’État pour le Développement administratif et coordinatrice du programme Afkar auprès de ce département, a annoncé que le ministère organisera une table ronde autour du même thème pour poursuivre cette action.
Au terme de la conférence de presse, un extrait du documentaire Min Ila, produit par Dar Onboz, a été projeté. Son objectif est de sensibiliser les différentes parties concernées sur les conditions de vie du toxicomane. Il relate des témoignages de familles de toxicomanes sur les conditions d’arrestation de ces derniers, les difficultés qu’ils ont vécues, notamment parce qu’ils ont été traités comme des criminels.

[Commodore]

Governments make so much money off cigarette sales which makes me strongly doubt that they are interested in fighting this epidemic.

Nicotine is deadly, and it kills more people than any other drug. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, 5 million die per year from smoking. It's no joke.

The majority of smokers want to quit, but the problem with nicotine is that it's VERY addictive. More addictive than any other drug I've tried. Weed was 50 times better, and I had no problem leaving it. Nicotine on the other hand humiliates those addicted to it.

To start, TV ads for Cigarettes should be banned. These ads, which depict smoking as 'sexy', are nothing but death ads. Yellow teeth, poor blood circulation, cancer, and being smelly aren't sexy.

Next, raise the taxation. People have quit in countries where the taxes on cigarettes were raised.

Finally, educate the youth. Outlawing drugs is counter productive. It makes the drug more expensive, puts it on the black market, results in combining the source for soft and hard drugs, and increases the crime rate related to drugs. The best approach according to ALL studies on drugs is treatment which also happens to be cheaper ($$) for society.

Cheers.