Tackling drug abuse should include treatment programs, awareness campaigns and measures targeting young people, according to speakers at an international drug symposium here.

One session was addressed by Gilberto Gerra, chief of the drug prevention and health branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who presented a paper on drugs and medicines for the treatment of those addicted to cocaine and other substances.

Franz Trautmann, head of the international affairs unit in the Netherlands, said his country considers drug addiction a health issue. The country’s Ministry of Health spearheads drug treatment and awareness campaigns.

Professor Margaret Ann Hamilton, consultant to the Australian Drug Foundation, said the abuse of narcotics, liquor and tobacco cost Australia $ 56.1 billion in the 2004/2005 financial year in terms of health care, loss of productivity at work, road accidents and crimes. She said the Australian government specifically targets young people by trying to delay their use of liquor and tobacco.

Wadih Maalouf, a drug reduction expert and global project coordinator at the UNODC, said successful drug programs involve families, schools and communities.

The second session was presided over by Prince Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al-Saud, adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and head of the Saudi Arbitration Group. The session focused on global efforts in the treatment of users of narcotic substances and amphetamines.

Herbert Kleber, director of substance use and Adam Bisaga, professor of clinical psychiatry, both from Colombia University, presented papers on experimental treatment programs for addicts.