On Monday, November 27th, a panel discussion titled “Addiction Diseases – Challenges and Prevention” was held in Loznica, organized by the Svetionik Association. The conference was attended by the assistant mayor of the City of Loznica, Ljubinko Đokić, Dr. Živka Mićanović Cvejić in psychological sciences, Dr. Boris Jovanović, and digital security expert Katarina Jonev Ćiraković. Representatives from the Office for Combating Drugs were Jovan Vojnović and Smiljana Aleksić.

The aim of the panel organized at the Loznica Youth Center was to raise awareness about various aspects of chemical and behavioral dependencies, combat these dependencies through preventive measures, and stress the importance of establishing a network with different partners within local government units for the effective implementation of preventive measures and control of addiction diseases. Discussions also centered around potential dangers in the virtual space, safe internet usage, and social media among young people, as well as addiction to the internet and digital technologies.

The assistant mayor, Mr. Đokić, highlighted, “In 2018, Loznica developed a Local Action Plan to combat drug abuse, which lasted until this year, and now it is necessary to prepare a new one. Two years ago, our city signed a Cooperation Protocol with the Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, enabling collaborative work and activities. Loznica supports all projects promoting healthy lifestyles free from drugs. Unfortunately, no place, including Loznica, is immune to this problem, but our goal is to fight it to the maximum.”