International Day Against Drug Abuse And Illicit Trafficking 2020: History, Theme & Significance

Drug abuse and its illicit trafficking are some of the severe issues prevalent across the world. To combat this issue, every year 26 June is observed as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. It is a day to observe the determination of achieving a society free of drug abuse.

It was in December 1987, when the United Nations General Assembly declared 26 June to be observed as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. To know more about this day, scroll down the article to read more.

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History Of This Day

The reason why 26 June was chosen for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is to commemorate the day when Lin Zexu dismantled the opium trade in Hume, Guangdong. This was an incident that took place just before the First Opium War in China. In the World Drug Report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2017, it was stated that over a quarter of a billion people were into drug addiction and trafficking till 2015. Over 200 million people were reported to be involved in illicit trafficking and business related to drugs. Thus, it becomes quite essential to launch informative campaigns to spread more and more awareness among the people.

Theme For 2020

Every year theme is decided for observing this day to throw light on the major issues related to drug abuse and trafficking. The theme for 2020 is 'Better Knowledge for Better Care'. The aim of this theme is to throw light on the need to stop drug abuse and trafficking. With this theme, awareness will be spread regarding the knowledge of drug abuse and how it is affecting the lives and health of people across the world.

Significance Of This Day

• The intentions behind observing this day are to raise awareness against the growing problem of drug abuse.
• It is observed to strengthen the measures and actions taken against drug abuse prevalent in society.
• In addition to the awareness campaigns, knowledge about how to overcome the addiction of drugs are also given to people who are into drugs.
• Several rallies, programs, short films and posters are released to emphasise more and more on this severe issue.