Dr Yusuf Merchant, President of DAIRRC (Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Center), a pioneer of in drug awareness, abuse and rehabilitation in India chaired the forum. The lively discussion program addressed various aspects of drug awareness, usage and DRE (Drug Rehabilitation Education) program amongst other relevant topics.

Merchant spoke on the key areas that have helped his centre to become a successful institution, on the DRE (Drug Rehabilitation Education)and STEP drug prevention programmes he initiated in Bombay, and the general state of drug abuse worldwide. DAIRRC has achieved an 85 per cent success in rehabilitating drug abusers. Merchant spoke on the need to target young people from an early age before they are exposed abusive substances like cigarettes.

The DRE programme trains college students to lecture school-goers to refrain from drug use. The STEP programme reaches out to the college students through stars such as Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit to de-glamourise drug abuse.

Various groups form the physician, psychiatrist, educational institutions, rehab organizations like Apon, BRAC who work on the respective field in Bangladesh and others attended the forum.