International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2025 Protecting Our Future: Urgent Need for Comprehensive Drug Prevention
Professor Dr. ArupRatan Choudhury
Every year on June 26, the world comes together to observe the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. In 2025, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has chosen a powerful and timely theme: “The evidence is clear: invest in prevention. Break the cycle. #Stop organized crime.” This theme carries an unmistakable urgency. It calls on all of us—governments, communities, and families—to invest in strong, evidence-based prevention programs to safeguard our younger generation from the devastating grip of addiction.
The age-old wisdom that “prevention is better than cure” finds its strongest relevance in the fight against drug abuse. Addiction isn’t like most other diseases. When left unaddressed, its consequences extend ...