12/10/2013 00:00
TW
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A total of 3'050 pupils and 305 teachers in the Primary Schools on the Balearics will take part in a competition to encourage the prevention of future drug consumption.

The competition has been organised by the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs with the participation of the autonomous regions, according to Ministry sources. “The secret of a good life” is the title of the competition. It is a national competition in the form of a multimedia game in which more than 1'000 schools, 86'500 pupils and 7'500 teachers will take part, and has the collaboration of the Caja Madrid's Obra Social.

According to the School Poll on Drugs, which was published last Friday by the Cabinet, the age at which teenagers come into contact with these substances is dropping every year, so it is necessary to intensify the prevention programmes among children and teenagers.

The average age at which children start smoking is 13.1 years, while they start drinking at 13.8 years. The average age for trying cannabis is 14.6 years, and 15.4 years for cocaine.

This is the second edition of this initiative, which is directed at pupils in the 5th and 6th years of primary school (children between 10 and 12 years old), at their parents, and at their teachers.

In fact, one of the novelties in the present campaign is a series of recommendations for the parents as to how to use the game as a drug education tool in the family home.

The public administrations will distribute a series of scholastic materials for the competition. There will be prizes for the winners in each autonomous region.

The game consists of a virtual journey through the 19 autonomous regions and towns, where the participants will aim to discover healthy habits and avoid any consumption of drugs should they come into contact with them. “The secret of a good life” forms part of the Itaca Programme for the prevention of drug addiction in schools. This programme has a wide range of activities to reinforce the programmes for drug prevention which the autonomous regions are developing.

These initiatives include the different activities aimed at pupils of between six and 18 years old. Along with the secret of a good life, there is the Programa Odisea, aimed especially at boys of between 16 and 18 years old, and the Argos programme, aimed at the early detection of drug risks in schools.