MANILA, Philippines ? The youth plays an important part in helping stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, the Dangerous Drugs Board said on Tuesday.

Because of this, the agency stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy, drug-free lifestyle among the youth, by making them aware of the problem of illegal drugs in the country.

In the recently concluded 7th Asian Youth Congress held in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, DDB Chairman Vicente Sotto III said that the youth should be mobilized to help in the government?s anti-illegal drugs efforts to ?help us win the war against illegal drugs and drug abuse.?

The 7th AYC was participated by 18 Asian countries. The theme, ?Unity in Diversity: Towards a Drug-Free World,? sought to build and maintain a global network through which effective resilience against drug abuse and lessons learned were shared by participating countries.

?The youth?s involvement in the anti-drug campaign is a necessary step. Recognizing diversity as an advantage rather than a setback is likewise an essential call for the youth to contribute to the campaign against this menace,? Sotto said.

The 7th AYC also aimed to formulate solutions on the problem of illegal drugs by developing school, campus, workplace, and community-based action plans; identifying strategies that would empower youth leaders to mobilize other youths to implement these strategies; strengthening the Asian Youth Network to enable the youth to take up strong leadership roles in drug abuse prevention; and designing innovative ways to utilize education and entertainment cultural platforms to disseminate the drug prevention messages to the youth.

The 7th AYC also presented current drug trends in the Asia-Pacific Region and the emerging problems to the youth.

Sotto said the information-sharing was vital to help reduce drug use and abuse in the community level.