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HEALTH
diesel oil in road vehicles, the unlicensed storage of dangerous goods, adulteration of wines and spirits and offences committed under the Trade Description Ordinance. Other areas of work carried out by the Government Laboratory are described in Chapter 18.
Drug Abuse and Trafficking
The government's policy is to stop the illicit trafficking of drugs into and through Hong Kong; to develop a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programme for drug abusers; to dissuade people, in particular the young, from experimenting with drugs; and to eradicate drug abuse from the community.
Data collected by the government's Central Registry of Drug Abuse in 1994, based on 40 000 reports on 20 000 persons, indicated that 90 per cent of drug abusers were male and 10 per cent female. Fifty-three per cent of the reported individuals were aged over 30 26 per cent were in the 21 to 30 age bracket and 21 per cent were under 21 years.
years,
The most common drug of abuse was heroin, which was used by 94 per cent of the persons reported to the registry. In the case of young persons aged below 21, the common drugs of abuse included heroin, cannabis and cough medicines.
A total of 5 000 drug abusers came to the notice of the registry for the first time in 1994. Of the new cases, 81 per cent were male and 19 per cent were female. Most of them (72 per cent) were within the age bracket of 16 to 30. The drugs reported to be commonly abused by these new cases were again, heroin, cannabis and cough medicines.
Overall Strategy and Co-ordination
The government has a comprehensive anti-drug programme which has achieved con- siderable success. The programme adopts a four-pronged approach - law enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation, preventive education and publicity, and international co- operation. Effective law enforcement induces abusers to seek treatment voluntarily, as a result of short supply of drugs. Treatment and rehabilitation are undertaken by the govern- ment and a number of voluntary agencies which offer a wide range of facilities to meet the different needs of drug abusers from varying backgrounds. The effectiveness of these treatment programmes reduces the demand for illicit drugs. At the same time, the government places great emphasis on preventive education and publicity to heighten public awareness of the drug problem and to promote the advantages of a drug-free lifestyle. Co- operation at the international level, through exchange of information and experience, and joint action against illicit trafficking, enhances the effectiveness of efforts in these areas.
These efforts are co-ordinated by the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN), a non-statutory body which includes both non-official and government members. The committee is the government's advisory body on all anti-drug policies and actions, including those undertaken by non-government agencies. It is serviced by the Narcotics Division, which is headed by the Commissioner for Narcotics.
Legislation and Law Enforcement
Progress was made during the year towards enabling the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances to be extended to Hong Kong. This came with the enactment of legislation to give effect to the provisions of Articles 12, 16 and 17. The other main international agreements in this area, the 1961 Single Convention on