Creating Awareness of the Health Hazards of Mkpurummiri among Youth: The Role of the Mass Media

Abstract

Recently, videos of adults being flogged for consuming a substance known as Mkpurummiri went viral on social media. The video was  said to have been shot in a community in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, South East of Nigeria, where many have  become addicted to the substance. Soon after that, the social media space became inundated with reports of the abuse of this hard drug  called crystal meth or methamphetamine otherwise known as Mkpurummiri in the Igbo parlance. From Facebook to WhatsApp to  Instagram and other social media platforms, videos and pictures as well as textual reports of the havoc of the abuse of Mkpur mmiri were  shared by users containing displays of the effects and symptoms of the consumption of Mkpurummiri like madness, barking,  shouting and other abnormal behaviour. This work is therefore aimed at using analytical approach in prescribing the role of the media in  creating awareness of the health hazards of this substance among residents of Anambra State.