The National Narcotics Control Commission last week updated us on China's drug abuse and trafficking problems. Officials said the country still faces grave challenges.

Today, young people using "ecstasy tablets" semi-openly at parties is not a rare scene in some cities.

Among officially registered drug addicts, 70 per cent are under the age of 35. And the types of drugs they use are becoming more and more diverse.

This is evidence of how urgently we must improve the education of the young generation to prevent more from falling into the quagmire of drugs.

The current situation is worrying.

A survey among Shanghai's college students found 32 per cent of them did not consider cocaine to be a drug.

Shanghai is one of the country's most sophisticated places and college students there are thought to be more knowledgeable.

Among the young -- high school students, the young unemployed, migrant workers, teenagers and twenty-somethings -- in less developed areas the situation is even worse.

When we talk about the prevention of problems such as drug abuse and AIDS, we often tend to cite the nation's successful war against SARS two years ago.

Admittedly, drug education is more complicated than SARS and its complexity makes it difficult to establish the most appropriate ways of tackling it.

Many factors are involved such as teaching in schools, the role of neighbourhood committees and non-government organizations (NGOs), mental health support, family environment and media influence.

The country needs a well-considered practical approach and co-ordinated efforts to make headway, just as we saw during the SARS epidemic.

The reality today is that in many places, young people have very limited access to knowledge about drugs although drug abuse and trafficking are spreading in these areas.

In large cities and relatively rich areas, many of the attempts we have seen so far, mainly represented by lectures or posters and short-term campaigns, are superficial.

What has been done is far from being enough to equip young people with a comprehensive knowledge about drugs and to make them understand the dire consequences of using drugs.

It is true that schools, community organizations and NGOs have their respective difficulties in doing more to fight the war on drugs.

In a highly competitive atmosphere, middle schools take improving academic achievements as the paramount concern. Many NGOs do not have enough professional talent and financial resources. Neither do neighbourhood committees.

It is the government's duty to find ways to solve these problems.

Options include making drug prevention knowledge a part of the national curriculum and training more community workers and social workers to help young people who have already left school.

Particular attention should be given to young men and women in distress because they are often the most likely to seek comfort from drugs.

Parents and teachers should learn to improve their communication skills and provide emotional support for their children or students. Young people should also be encouraged to seek counselling for emotional problems.

(China Daily May 30, 2005)