ENG-1998 — Page 223

HEALTH

The year-round testing of cigarettes sold locally, with 15 413 cigarettes tested, which helped to inform the public of their tar and nicotine content.

In the area of revenue collection under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, 21 680 tests were conducted on hydrocarbon oil and marked diesel oil.

Chinese Medicine

Following submission of the report of the Preparatory Committee on Chinese Medicine (PCCM) in March 1997, the government plans to introduce enabling legislation into the Legislative Council in early 1999 to establish a statutory system to regulate the practice, use and trading of Chinese medicines in order to protect public health and consumers' rights and to ensure the professional standard of Chinese medicine practice.

Drug Abuse and Trafficking

The government is committed to reducing both the supply of illegal drugs and the demand for them through a wide range of action and programmes. It is also committed to reducing the prevalence and incidence of drug abuse by developing a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programme for drug abusers and dissuading people, in particular the young, from taking or experimenting with drugs. Drug abusers' information is reported to the Central Registry of Drug Abuse by a wide network of reporting agencies. In 1998, there were about 17 000 reported drug abusers. The proportion of the population involved in drug abuse remained relatively small at less than three per thousand.

Of the drug abusers reported to the registry during the year, 19 per cent were newly reported cases, 88 per cent were males and 84 per cent were aged 21 or above. Heroin remained the predominant drug of abuse in Hong Kong, and was used by 87 per cent of the persons reported to the registry. Other common drugs of abuse included cannabis, triazolam, methylamphetamine ('ice') and cough medicine; while 10 per cent of the drug abusers were reported to have abused more than one drug.

Overall Strategy and Co-ordination

―

The government adopts a five-pronged approach in combating drug trafficking and abuse law enforcement, preventive education and publicity, treatment and rehabilitation, research and international co-operation.

Effective law enforcement curtails illicit drug supply and induces drug abusers to seek treatment voluntarily. It also brings compulsory treatment to many who are convicted and have a drug dependency. A comprehensive range of treatment and rehabilitation services is provided to meet the different needs of drug abusers from varying backgrounds.

Preventive education and publicity programmes are organised both on a territory- wide basis and at the local level to heighten public awareness of the drug problem and to encourage people to adopt a drug-free lifestyle. Research studies are conducted on various aspects of the drug abuse problem and the findings facilitate the planning of suitable anti-drugs strategies and programmes. Co-operation at the international level, through exchange of information and experience as well as joint action against illicit trafficking, enhances the effectiveness of efforts in all these areas.

171