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The number of reported drug abusers continued to drop in the first three quarters of this year and at the end of September stood at 11,785, a decline of 5.2% from 12,436 in the same period last year.
The figures were released at today's (December 9) meeting of the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN).
The meeting said the continued decreasing trend could be attributed to a drop in the number of male abusers from 10,311 to 9,627.
Although there was a significant drop of 28% in the number of ketamine abusers from 2,243 to 1,626, notable increases (34.5%) were recorded for abusers of ecstasy - from 957 to 1,287.
Analysing the figures reported to the Central Registry of Drug Abuse (CRDA), ACAN Chairman Dr Choi Yuen-wan said the proportion of young people taking psychotropic substances had registered a steady rise in recent years.
"To address the problem, both the ACAN and the Narcotics Division believe it is important to involve the other stakeholders - school headmasters, teachers and parents - on top of the comprehensive preventive education and publicity work designed for youth.
"Apart from a series of seminars and meetings that have been organised for headmasters and teachers since the beginning of this academic year, programmes will be specifically designed for parents in collaboration with non-governmental organisations to drive home the message that harmonious and close family relationships are an effective protective factor in preventing young people from using drugs." Dr Choi said.
He stressed that young people would continue to be the primary target of the preventive education and publicity initiatives. Some of the priority funding areas encouraged by the Beat Drug Fund also included the involvement of young people and parents.
Commissioner for Narcotics Mrs Rosanna Ure said that despite the downward trend in the overall number of drug abusers reported to the CRDA, both the ACAN and the Government had not lost sight of the fact that there was an emerging trend of abusers taking more than one drug, especially among psychotropic substance abusers.
"The popularity of psychotropic substances, especially among the young, has been identified for quite some time and as such, a lot of educational efforts have been directed towards combating this problem, with special attention being paid to certain high-risk groups," she said.
"We are directing more resources at understanding high-risk groups such as non-engaged youths, ethnic minorities and youth from deprived backgrounds by commissioning a number of research projects to gain a more in-depth and thorough understanding of these special groupings. We are also enhancing and strengthening the training of anti-drug workers to raise their professional standards.
"To enhance the knowledge and skills of frontline workers in assessing and screening poly-drug abusers, the Narcotics Division has released a revised Protocol of Screening and Assessment of Poly-drug Abusers and organised a briefing session for anti-drug workers this week.
"The Narcotics Division has also commissioned the School of Continuing Education of Hong Kong Baptist University to provide a certificate course for frontline workers - social workers and peer counsellors - in treatment and rehabilitation services. The workers will attend a six-month training course to equip them with knowledge and skills on various aspects of drug trends, treatment and rehabilitation and counselling skills," she said.
Ends/Friday, December 9, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:51
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