On Thursday, October 24, 2024, PT Bintang Toedjoe, through the Komix Herbal brand, collaborates to organize education for high school/vocational school students in Yogyakarta. Carrying the theme "Healthy Generation, Herbal Generation: It's Time for Gen-Z to Get to Know Herbs!", the activity held on Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD) Yogyakarta which was attended by 100 participants representing student administrators from various schools.

The educational material presented ranged from self-medication to being wise in using social media about medicines and herbs. apt. Hendy Ristiono, S.Far., MPH., a spokes person from PD IAI D.I. Yogyakarta, in his presentation stated that in general there are two types of treatment steps, the first is Non-Pharmacology (without medicine), and the second is Pharmacology either through a prescription or without a prescription. Treatment without a prescription can be done with Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs, Pharmacy Compulsory Drugs and natural ingredients/traditional medicines. "There are advantages and risks of self-medication, therefore, we must be careful and wise in choosing and using medicines including natural medicines," said Hendy.

Talking further about natural medicines, BBPOM Yogyakarta represented by apt. Herllya Selvi Wardani, S. Farm., M. Sc., also provided education on the importance of the community, especially students, to become smart consumers of natural medicines. This medicine is available in various forms of preparations such as powder, capsules, tablets, and liquids. Before being distributed to the public, each product must have a distribution permit number from BPOM to guarantee the safety, efficacy, and quality of the product. "Consumption of Natural Medicines has increased rapidly due to the promotion of back to nature. Advertising is one of the factors that influences purchases. Joint supervision by the government, business actors, and the community is important to ensure the safe distribution of medicines and food. The public can protect themselves carefully through CEK KLIK (Packaging, Label, Marketing Authorization, Expiration)".

The rapid digital development today is a challenge to the truth of information. Ikrob Didik, Digital Manager of Tribun Jogja, in his material emphasized the importance for the Gen-Z generation to be wise in responding to developments in information technology, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI). He also highlighted the importance of ethics in using social media, especially when sharing information related to herbal medicine.

According to Iqrob, "Freedom in social media must always be balanced with responsibility. When we share information, especially information related to health, such as herbal medicine, we need to ensure that the information is accurate and reliable. This is important so as not to mislead or endanger others."

He also invited Gen-Z to be more careful and critical in filtering health information they find on social media, and to prioritize official and trusted sources in every dissemination of information. In addition to the use of drugs and herbs, education is needed regarding the effects of hazardous substances in the environment. This is related to the importance of the P4GN (Prevention, Eradication, Abuse, and Illicit Distribution of Drugs) program among students.

Hindun Kurnia, a Drug Counselor from BNNP Yogyakarta highlighted the vulnerability of drugs in D.I. Yogyakarta and introduced a prevention strategy through the concept of 3 Dare: Dare to Reject, Dare to Rehab, and Dare to Report. "Dare to Reject means that students must dare to reject the invitation to abuse drugs by knowing the negative impacts on health, social, economic, and legal. In addition, it is important to recognize healthy and safe solutions, such as the use of herbal medicine to maintain body health naturally and with minimal side effects," explained Hindun.

This event received a positive response from the participants. Bria Aisyah, one of the students who attended, said, "The information from the resource person is very useful. I now know more about herbal medicine, and hopefully activities from Komix Herbal like this can be held again in other schools."

Zaini Ahsan Prahendra, Public Relations of PT Bintang Toedjoe, added that education related to herbal medicine is very important. "Through this Komix Herbal Goes to School Talkshow, we hope that the information provided by the resource person can be useful, especially for Gen-Z who are identical to tech savvy and digital natives so that they can spread it on social media and to those closest to them," said Zaini.

Komix Herbal is a herbal cough medicine made from natural red ginger and lagundi leaves. Lagundi leaves (Vitex Negundo) are one of the herbs that contain active compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, and triterpenoids which have anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and expectorant properties. Because of these properties, lagundi leaves have been used in traditional medicine to relieve coughs.