ENG-1980 — Page 136

HEALTH

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illicit market increased marginally during the year, compared with the situation in 1979, its price remained at a very high level with no major fluctuation in purity content.

In the field of treatment and rehabilitation, it was the busiest year ever experienced. For, as a result of high drug prices at street level, large numbers of addicts sought, and remained in, treatment voluntarily.

The Narcotics and Drug Administration Division of the Medical and Health Depart- ment operates 20 methadone treatment centres, each providing both maintenance and detoxification services to addicts. Methadone maintenance is a long-term treatment approach which is intended to prevent an addict's return to illicit heroin or other narcotic abuse, while detoxification is a short-term form of medical treatment aimed at eliminating the physical dependence on narcotics.

Due to the increasing numbers of addicts approaching the methadone out-patient clinics for treatment, a new urine-testing laboratory-was opened at Ho Man Tin in July to enable the progress of the methadone treatment programme to be more adequately monitored.

The Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers (SARDA) runs two voluntary in-patient treatment centres - one for men and the other for women. The male centre, located on the outlying island of Shek Kwu Chau has the capacity for 600 patients, while SARDA's female treatment centre is located in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island and can take 30 patients. Linked with these two centres are six regional after-care centres, three units for the intake of patients and three hostels. During 1980, 2,592 patients, in- cluding 95 women, were admitted to SARDA's two centres.

Under these two voluntary treatment programmes and the Prisons Department's com- pulsory treatment programme, 13,128 addicts and ex-addicts are now receiving some form of treatment, rehabilitation and after-care every day. This represents an increase of 30.3 per cent compared with the situation five years ago. In addition, addiction among young people continues to decline. Addicts under 21 in the Prisons Department's drug addiction treatment centres decreased from 25 per cent in 1969 to 3.4 per cent in 1980; at SARDA's Shek Kwu Chau voluntary in-patient treatment centre addicts under 19 also decreased from 13 per cent to 0.9 per cent in the same period.

In the area of legislation, an amendment was made to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance to control instances of trafficking in a substance purporting to be a dangerous drug, and two new pieces of legislation were drafted. Based on recommendations by the Action Committee Against Narcotics, the new legislation is intended to provide for the con- fidentiality of records on drug addicts and to impose stringent penalties on ships repeatedly found to be carrying dangerous drugs into Hong Kong.

Preventive education and publicity continues to play an important part in Hong Kong's fight against drug abuse. Work in this area is focused on fostering public awareness of the dangers of drug abuse, promoting community involvement in tackling the problem, and persuading young people not to experiment with drugs. In 1980, the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) spent more than $1 million in its largest preventive education and publicity campaign to date. The major events included a water carnival, campaigns in the Central, Western, Yuen Long and Yau Ma Tei districts and seminars for community leaders, students and social workers. To support these activities and publicise anti-narcotics messages in the media, TV newsclips and dramas, films, posters and a mobile exhibition kit, were produced.

In July, a Drug Education Liaison Centre was established under the Preventive Educa- tion and Publicity Unit of the Narcotics Division. Its main duties are to gather drug-related information, to liaise with members of the public and to organise anti-narcotics training