Media draws flak over coverage of drug abuse

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Sensational reports by some sectors about the spread of drugs among schoolchildren is likely to be politically motivated, Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Dr. Samadhi Rajapaksa, told journalists in Colombo on Monday.

Rajapaksa said that only 9.1 percent of Sri Lankans now smoked. The number consuming betel had dropped to 13 percent and the intake of alcohol, too, had reduced in the last three years, Rajapaksa said.

“When you look at this trend it is obvious that there is an attempt to exaggerate the use of drugs among schoolchildren. It seems politically motivated to me. However, doing this kind of propaganda, targeting schoolchildren, is wrong,” he said.

Rajapaksa said in recent weeks some media institutions have been airing sensational reports on drug use, among children, to boost their ratings.

“They are creating an environment where children are placed in danger. They are trying to create an impression that hard drugs are prevalent in all schools,” he said.

Prof. Pujitha Wickramasinghe, a paediatrician, who also addressed the conference said that most of the journalists have no idea about the types of narcotics.

“If there is a discussion on heroin, they say everything that is detected as heroin. Now they are doing the same with crystal methamphetamine or ICE. This kind of reporting is like indirect advertising to popularize drugs,” he said.

Prof. Wickramasinghe said that when TV stations broadcast stories about drugs, they should refrain from airing images that are not relevant to the story. Media has a big responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, Shakya Nanayakkara said that about 40,000 Sri Lankans die each year due to the abuse of tobacco and alcohol.

“When these people die, tobacco and alcohol companies need to attract 40,000 new customers. However, the abusers of tobacco and alcohol are declining. If you look at this logically, if those who use tobacco and alcohol are declining, it is also obvious that the number of people who use harder drugs should have also declined,” he said.

Nanayakkara said in recent years there is an increase in the use of crystal methamphetamine or ICE among drug users. However, there is no data to support claims that a large number of students are abusing crystal methamphetamine, he said.

“There is a lot of misinformation too. People tell us that kids are chewing ICE. You can’t ingest crystal metamphetamine by chewing them or in lozenges. A lot of alleged narcotics targeted for children are brought to our lab and when we analyze it most of these products have no narcotic properties while some have cannabis compounds. There is no doubt that we must be vigilant about school children, but the threat posed by tobacco and alcohol is more,” he said.