AN ASSESSMENT OF NEWSPAPER IN CREATING AWARENESS AGAINST DRUG ABUSE IN IKOT EKPENE URBAN
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Ideally, newspaper has been a major agent of socialization and tools for social changes especially now that people depend on message from media. The potential power of the newspaper media helps to solve social problems. Television, radio and print advertising can entice people to buy a wide range of products and services, and newspaper messages and advertisement exert enormous influence over ideas, values and behavior. According to conventional wisdom, it should be possible to use mass communications to get people to act on behalf their own health and well-being or to do right by important social causes.
Newspaper has been a major driver pg globalization as it creates means such as printed work of different cultures. Nigerian movies undoubtedly contains cultural ties to Nigerian ideals but at the same time contains universal themes that people in other countries can relate to such as love for one’s family or good versus evil. Newspapers do not only give people an insight into the cultural views of others but has also unite people at some level with the help of universal human theme, (Dejong and Western, 1998).
Newspaper in it’s a traditional format is a printed medium of mass communication unbounded and issued at predetermined intervals or frequencies. It contains news of current events, information, articles, diverse features and advertising, giving its format and presentation of a wide range of current information. It is also seen as the oldest mass medium. Newspaper media is a media awareness launched by Boswton Mayor Thomas M. Menino as a response to the 1997 death of Scott Kueger a freshman at the Massachusetts institute of technology who died from alcohol poisoning after a fraternity hosting each of the advertisement for this posters and billboard campaign uses a photograph taking from the point of view of a drinker, with the rhetorical tagline ,”Remind you of last night” one shows the blurry image of a toilet, the apparent target of ands intoxicated drinker who need to vomit. Other shows the splayed feet of a drinker lying in bed, the room spinning rapidly around him. A third shows a convey of young one women pointing and laughing at a drinker (presumably a male) who has passed out or fallen on the floor.
Drug abuse addiction is one of the most vexing and pervasive problems that almost all the countries have faced in the world including Nigeria (Soji 2010). The consequences of such addiction, abuse, trafficking or even cultivation can be devastating; unfortunately the youths are the most vulnerable on hard drugs and this brings a lot of diverse effects on the community. Drug abuse is a serious public health problem that affects almost every community and family in some way. Each year, drug abuse causes millions of serious illness or injuries among Nigerian. Drug abuse also plays a role in many major social problems, such as drugged driving, violence, stress and child abuse. Drug abuse can lead to homelessness, crime and missed work or treatment for drug abuse. But the best is to prevent drug abuse in the first place. Drug therefore is a state of period or choice intoxication produced by repeated consummation of a drug a state of period or choice intoxication produced by repeated consummation of a drug (natural or synthetic) it’s characteristic are on over powering compulsive to continue in taking the drugs.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The continuous abuse of this drugs, has led to a situation of drugs addicted unloved developing in a bondage to the drug. the effect of drugs abuse one detrimental not only to the individual but the society as a whole, yet this problem is on increase tent news about drugs abuse involving ones in higher institution of learner choose the serious threat to our national sanctity.
Newspaper is a vehicle for information dissemination be relied upon to perform it’s role in the society to join hand in the battle against drug abuse.
Drug abuse often leads to various crimes, including the distortions of national economics monetary, polices due to laundering of profit, narcotic, crimes (especially violence cultism, assai sedation, and moral decadence among our youth). This study therefore seeks to determine how newspaper creates awareness to enlighten the general public against drug abuse.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This research work is based on the following objectives:
- To determine whether newspaper enlighten the general public on drug abuse.
- To know if newspaper awareness on drug abuse has reduced the unlawful use of drugs in Ikot Ekpene Urban.
- To examine if newspaper present adequate information on the effect of drug abuse to the people in the society.
