Adam: The Health Committee in the Wilayat of Adam recently held a symposium titled 'Conscious Family Means Safe Society'.

According to Oman News Agency, the symposium recommended intensifying public awareness discourse through the use of medical facts to warn against the use of drugs and psychotropic/psychoactive substances. It proposed the preparation of specialized training programmes for early detection of cases of use of drugs.

The closing ceremony of the symposium was held under the auspices of Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed Al Shamsi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development for Family and Community Development Affairs.

The Wali of Adam, Dr. Mohammed bin Ali Al Mahri, who chairs the Health Committee, said, 'The family represents the basic building block in society'. He pointed out that the success of efforts to promote public awareness about the risks of drugs mandates building strong bonds between the government and civil society institutions.

The symposium focused on four main themes: The Health Theme, the Security Theme, the Media Theme, and the Civil Institutions Theme.

The Health Theme highlighted the health effects of drugs and psychotropic substances; The Security Theme focused on seeking the help of the authorities concerned and activating their role in combating the use of drugs and applying relevant penalties; the Media Theme dealt with optimizing the use of social media for raising public awareness about the phenomenon; while the Civil Institutions Theme laid emphasis on establishing strong relations with families as a means of protecting society against the use of drugs and psychotropic substances.

The symposium saw the launch of a book titled "Don't Waste Your Future". The book comprised a selection of stories aimed at raising the awareness of school students about the risks involved in using drugs and psychotropic substances.