BATTLING AGAINST DRUGS

China can be proud of its fight against drug abuse when it marks
International Day on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking today.

The rate of increase in the number of new drug addicts in the country
last year saw an impressive decrease, down from 30 percent in 2000 to
5.8 percent.

Latest statistics from the Ministry of Public Security also show that
the number of registered drug users nationwide was 803,900 by April
this year, compared to 1.16 million in 2006.

This is the result of the country's resolute anti-drug efforts and
effective compulsory rehabilitation measures in recent years,
particularly in the past two years, to curb the spread of drug abuse
and eliminate the harm drugs have done to our society.

China now has established drug control systems for air, water, and
road transport as well as the postal system for effectively cracking
down on drug trafficking. It has also stepped up efforts to work
closely with other countries to combat transnational drug-related crimes.

However, we should remain vigilant, the road ahead to rid the Chinese
society from the threat of drugs, is still long.

New types of drugs such as ecstasy, ketamin and "ice" have overtaken
the traditional heroin and opium.

Drug trafficking and drug-related crimes today are also taking on new
features and being conducted in a more covert ways.

For example, although there is a decline in cases involving large
amounts of drugs, smugglers are breaking up their quantities into
smaller ones, and using innocent people including international
tourists and even pregnant women as traffickers.

All these covert ways pose new challenges to our anti-drugs crusade.
We still need greater efforts in fighting the scourge and to fight it wisely.

In this battle, education of our young generation is equally
important. According to statistics, a majority of the registered drug
users are under 35 years old.

Knowledge about drugs and the harm they cause should be part of the
school education system. Learning young is good prevention.