People under 35 make up 72.2 percent of China's all registered drug addicts, which numbered 1.05 million people by the end of 2003, said Luo Feng, deputy director of the National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) in Beijing on Feb. 12.

In addition to the young abusers, some 573,000 jobless people and 294,000 farmers were also registered as drug addicts.

Luo, also vice minister of public security, released the figures at a NNCC meeting which opened Thursday, saying that the group of illegal drug users was still expanding.

"Drug abuse has caused great economic losses to the country," Luo said, noting that the heroine abusers alone would consume 27 billion yuan (3.3 billion US dollars) annually, if each took in 0.3 gram of heroin per day.

He also complained that drug abuse impaired social security. Statistics show that 80 percent of male addicts involve in other crimes and 80 percent of female ones are engaged in prostitution. In some places, 60 to 80 percent of robberies and thefts are committed by drug abusers.

Drug addiction also proved to a major channel of HIV infection. The Health Ministry estimated that China had about 840,000 HIV carriers. Among the 80,000 confirmed by the country's medical departments, 63.7 percent got infected with the deadly virus by mainlining.

Facing the increasing number of drug abusers, China took 222,500 in compulsory rehabilitation programs and sent 61,500 to reform-through-labor facilities to help them cast off narcotics last year.

The government also intensified work over drug abstinence and promoted the establishment of "No Drug" counties and communities where the abuser population formerly exceeded 1,000 people. Currently, northwest China's Gansu province has set up 27 "No Drug" counties and south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region also has 29 such model counties.

With assistance from the Education Ministry, NNCC printed the teaching outlines, textbooks and pictures on drug prevention last year, which were handed out in elementary and middle schools all over the country.

Luo Feng said the government would strengthen the registration and supervision of drug addicts this year.

"We will have a thorough investigation, supervision and assessment on abusers of heroin, benzedrine, caffeine and sodium benzoate as well as marijuana via means of epidemic survey this year," Luo said.

Meanwhile, China will also open special rooms for drug addicts carrying HIV virus in compulsory rehabilitation hospitals this year.

(Xinhua News Agency  February 14, 2004)