Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s ‘What is addiction, what is not?’ panel

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s ‘What is addiction, what is not?’ panel

ANKARA – Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, ‘What is Addiction and What is Not?’ on the International Day Against Drug Use and Trafficking. hosted the panel.

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, which has undertaken various projects in the field of combating addiction, hosted Prof. Dr. Moderated by Zehra Arıkan, ‘What is Addiction and What is It Not?’ hosted the panel.

In the panel held at the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Conference Hall, individuals with various addictions and ongoing treatment shared their experiences, while the moderator of the panel, Prof. Dr. Zehra Arıkan also gave information about Özgür Köy Treatment and Rehabilitation Center.

“The cooperation and support of all segments of society is of great importance.”

Participating in the panel, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş stated that they attach great importance to awareness raising on the fight against addiction and said, “Addiction is a huge problem that our society and individuals face. However, it is necessary to work determinedly to deal with this problem and all segments of the society should be involved in this.” “It is necessary to share the work,” he said.

Noting that they, as the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, are carrying out various studies on combating addiction, Yavaş said, “First of all, we attach great importance to prevention and awareness activities in combating addiction. In order to reach every segment of society, we give seminars, carry out workshops and organize informative events. We develop various programs for our youth to adopt a healthy lifestyle in combating addiction and continue our work to increase the awareness of society.”

“It is not possible to achieve successful results without community support”

Yavaş stated that individuals receiving support at Özgür Köy Treatment and Rehabilitation Center were reintegrated into society, and continued his speech with the following words:

“In addition, we provide psychological support, guidance and information services to addicted individuals and their families in our addiction counseling centers. We are also taking important steps in the fight against cigarette addiction with the tobacco cessation sessions held in these centers. The cooperation and support of all segments of society is of great importance in the fight against addiction. Therefore, as the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, we work in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, universities and other stakeholders. It is not possible to achieve successful results in the fight against addiction without the active participation and support of the society. As the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, we are working on every platform to raise awareness on this issue and at least inform families. I think that we can achieve good results in the fight against addiction with the work we will do together.”