"අයිස් ලෝලියෙක්", "මතට ලොල්" - සුදුසු ද?

Abstract

On November 19, 2023, the privately-owned Derana TV and Hiru TV channels reported an incident in which they used derogatory terms such as "Ice loliya" (අයිස් ලෝලියා), “Mathata lol pemvatha” (මතට ලොල් පෙම්වතා) and “Pemvathiya vikinu pemvata” (පෙම්වතිය විකිණූ පෙම්වතා) in their news headlines and content to refer to a drug-addicted individual. The use of such terms in the media, which trivializes addiction can contribute to misconceptions and negative attitudes towards drug use disorder in society.