The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, today (June 24) officiated at the opening ceremony of the large-scale anti-drug event "Fight Drugs Together 2017", kicking off this year's territory-wide campaign against drug abuse.
    
     The event was co-organised by the Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau, the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) and Radio Television Hong Kong in support of the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26 and to rally community support for combating drug abuse.
 
     More than 1 300 young people, including members of Junior Police Call and uniformed groups, students, and representatives from non-governmental organisations, social services groups of the anti-drug sector and the education sector, attended the event held at MacPherson Stadium today. Echoing the theme of the event, they pledged to stand strong against the temptation of drugs and work together to build a drug-free society.  
 
     Teams of young people were invited to perform at the event, calling on youngsters to spare no efforts in acting strong to resist drugs. They included a marching band, a choir, a dance group and a rope skipping team. Artists Hacken Lee, JW and Dear Jane, as well as Hong Kong athlete Tsui Chi-ho, also participated in the event, appealing to the youth to stay away from drugs in a strong spirit.
 
     A new TV Announcement in the Public Interest (API) was premiered at the event. It points out that the drug "Ice" is addictive and can cause irritability, hallucinations, delirium and even permanent brain damage. Youngsters should remain vigilant against drug abuse. The TV API and the corresponding radio API will be broadcast on TV and radio from tonight.
 
     In addition, the Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Joshua Law, joined by other guests led participants to chant the anti-drug slogan, showing the determination to fight drugs together and to stand firm and say no to drugs.
 
     The event marked the official launch of the territory-wide campaign against drug abuse. A series of anti-drug publicity programmes will be rolled out during the summer holidays. Apart from the new TV and radio APIs, related advertisements will be placed on public transport networks, in entertainment venues and on websites, mobile applications and social media platforms.
 
     The ND and ACAN will collaborate with radio stations and organisations to implement various anti-drug publicity initiatives, including DJ training with an anti-drug theme for young people, a singing contest to promote a drug-free life, and activities to encourage young people and working youth not to try drugs. The objective is to raise public awareness of the drug problem and encourage early help-seeking. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre will also continue to organise different activities to enhance the knowledge of drugs among youngsters and parents and reinforce the resilience against drugs.
    
     Other officiating guests at today's event included the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok; the Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Joshua Law; the Under Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee; the Chairman of ACAN, Dr Ben Cheung; the Chairman of the ACAN Sub-committee on Preventive Education and Publicity, Dr Tik Chi-yuen; the Convenor of the Research Advisory Group, Professor Cheung Yuet-wah; the Commissioner for Narcotics, Ms Manda Chan; and the Assistant Director of Broadcasting (Radio and Corporate Programming), Mr Albert Cheung.

Ends/Saturday, June 24, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:32

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