Dubai Women’s College launches awareness campaign on drug hazards

Dubai Women’s College (DWC), in collaboration with Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotics, launched an awareness campaign about the drug hazards titled “Do not be the second prey”. The campaign, sponsored by the Dubai Bank, included an exhibition on Drugs and their types to raise awareness among students on its effects physically, psychologically and socially and also featured several workshops and other awareness activities in which DWC students from different programs and majors participated.
 Jamie Stewart, Dean of the Business, Education and Learning Resource at DWC and Brigadier Dr Jumah Al-Shamsi, Director of Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotics, toured the exhibition displaying pictures and posters exposing the grave hazards of taking drugs. Also displayed were different types of fatal drugs whose traffickers in society must be brought to justice. Moreover, the exhibition featured leaflets tackling the social, health and legal aspects of this problem.
 The exhibition also featured “The Friend”, a device that provides important information about the objectives and programs of the campaign as well as everything else that helps combat the spread of drugs in society in general and among students in particular. A competition for designing new logo for the Department of Anti Narcotics was launched for students.
 For his part, Jamie Stewart thanked the Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotics for their constant support which reflects a strategy for partnership and cooperation between Dubai Women’s College and Dubai Police, praising the role played by the team working at the Dubai Police General Department of Anti-Narcotics in disseminating awareness in society as a whole and among students in particular. He stressed that participation in the campaign is one of DWC objectives to promote students’ cultural, social and intellectual aspects as well as raising awareness about several issues, which pose a grave threat to society and more often lead to violence.
Furthermore, Stewart underlined DWC’s interest in combating drugs and in maintaining links with and participation in all community-based activities in the UAE.
 
Eman Al-Shamsi, a first-year DWC Applied Media student, stressed the importance of the exhibition and campaign to raise awareness about drug hazards for individuals and society. She referred to the importance of education for all, saying it leads to a good, successful life and safeguards against perilous things such as drugs and violence.
 Brig. Dr. Jumah Al-Shamsi said that the campaign was so diverse that it featured explanation about the hazards of drugs and photos that graphically show the dismal fate of drug –takers, in addition to different posters and leaflets. He added that the campaign displayed 24 types of drugs and their health, psychological and social hazards as well as the importance of cooperation in reporting drug-taking cases, a situation that absolves the taker of the penalty and helps rehabilitate him. “Several field studies have stressed the role of education in protection from the feeling of loss experienced by drug takers,” he said, pointing to other reasons such as family violence, broken ties, excessive pampering and weak family supervision.
 Dr. Jumah further noted that the campaign is one in a series of drives organized by Dubai Police in conjunction with society’s institutions to raise awareness of young people about these hazards, lauding cooperation with Dubai Women’s College, which provided all help to render the campaign successful.