Time to act on the porn comics

THE message to our youth on the anti-drugs poster prominently displayed in Victoria Park on Sunday said: 'Care for your future, say no to drugs.' Governor Chris Patten also pledged a $30 million action plan to fight juvenile drug abuse. Without any doubt, this is a welcome move.

But if the Government considers that drug abuse has become an increasingly serious problem and requires government action, perhaps officials should also focus attention on another equally worrying problem - the spate of pornographic comics tainting the souls of our younger generation.

On a tour of newsstands it is not difficult to find scores of prominently-displayed comics for sale. Teachers and parents know that reading the comics has become an increasingly popular hobby of students.

There is nothing wrong in students taking an interest in reading comics, nor is it necessarily true that we only become more knowledgeable and cultured by reading textbooks instead of comics.

What is problematic now is not 'comics' as a form of reading material for students. Instead the complaints against comics are directed at their content - the thoughts and messages are full of sex and violence, deemed unsuitable for the youth.

The failure of the Government to monitor properly the content and sale of such publications is effectively giving the business the chance to mushroom. Those who have read the comics available on newsstands are shocked by the content.