Parents and family members should be treated as key stakeholders in preventive work against youth drug abuse, a study commissioned by the Narcotics Division suggests.

Conducted jointly by the University of Hong Kong and the Community Services Division of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the study aims to develop an evidence-based parent education programme.

It suggests the content of the programmes should be rich and cater for the needs of different parents. The anti-drug message should be clear so parents can immediately benefit from participating in the activities.

The format of the programmes should be two-way and interactive, while the venue should be easy to access. Registration should be simple and incentives should be provided for attendance.

The study recommends that anti-drug parental education programmes should be held regularly and publicity work should be extensive and multi-faceted. Parenting programmes targeting parents with a drug-taking history, and early intervention work to tackle young drug abusers, should be strengthened.

Gov't response

Welcoming the recommendations, Commissioner for Narcotics Sally Wong said anti-drug preventive education should start with the family.

"I fully agree with the recommendation we should strengthen support for parental education. On May 21 the Beat Drugs Fund launched a special funding exercise to sponsor the production of the Resource Kit for Parents.