The National Council for Fighting and Treating Addiction says 12 per cent of Egypt's school students use drugs, reports Reem Leila A study by the National Council for Fighting and Treating Addiction (NCFTA) has revealed that 12.21 per cent of school students report using drugs. Nine per cent of respondents said they had used bango, a strain of marijuana, and three per cent reported using cannabis with the remaining 0.21 per cent reporting use of psychoactive pharmaceuticals and heroin. The survey showed that 20 per cent of male students had used drugs at least once, as opposed to four per cent of female students. It also revealed that school students who smoke cigarettes are much more likely to become drug users than non-smokers. The majority of drug users, says NCFTA member Soheir Lutfi, are aged between 15 and 25, followed by those aged between 25 and 35. The NCFTA's strategy, he says, is to focus on reducing the demand for prohibited drugs. "They will be available as long as a market exists which is why our focus is to reduce the demand for narcotics through education while at the same time seeking to reduce supplies." The report warns that drug use, particularly of bango, is beginning at an earlier age. It quoted the results of a 2004 study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) which "confirmed an increase of cannabis abuse" and "stated that the onset of drug abuse has decreased from 25 to 15". The common perception is that bango is a relatively mild, recreational drug with little or no risk of physical addiction. But while hashish and bango have been available for centuries their use became increasingly common in the 1980s, with the introduction of the open door policy. Drugs began to enter the country in ever greater quantity and more people had the money to buy them. Alexandria, the Gulf of Suez, Bilbeis, Qantara and Sudan are still the main points of entry, says Deputy Minister of Health Abdel-Rahman El-Sakka, and "despite government efforts, Southern Sinai still has drug plantations". Problems become more serious, says El-Sakka, with the growing use of other kinds of drugs such as cocaine and heroine, where the shared use of needles can lead to the spread of Hepatitis C and AIDS. In response to the problem, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) began a programme a year ago which seeks to educate young people about the harmful effects of both drug use and cigarettes. Mushira Khattab, secretary-general of the NCCM, says the scheme is implemented by the NCCM in cooperation with the regional unit of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDPC), psychiatrists, sociologists and several non-governmental organisations. Hashish and bango are often affordable and available to young students. Some may also use solvents and inhalants for the same reason. Few children abuse alcohol because of its cost, though lax supervision in pharmacies, which frequently provide medication without prescription, means many psychoactive drugs fall into the hands of school children. "The use of prescription drugs by school children and young people is becoming a serious problem in Egypt," says Khattab. She believes such drug misuse is best tackled by making the education system more inclusive to the needs and rights of all learners and by raising awareness among school children about the dangers of drug abuse. The NCCM scheme seeks to encourage schools to accept, not exclude, children with drug abuse problems, to encourage children to talk openly, and train teachers about drug issues and how to answer students' questions. "I believe that if we are to tackle the problem of drug abuse and sustain the rights of all children the Ministry of Education must adopt these sorts of initiatives as part of a national strategy," says Khattab.
