VIENNA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) on Tuesday warned that the rapid spread of illicit synthetic drugs poses a serious threat to global public health and is reshaping illicit drug markets.

In its 2024 annual report published here on Tuesday, the INCB highlighted the rising production and consumption of synthetic drugs, which are often more potent than plant-based drugs. Criminal actors are exploiting regulatory loopholes to create new synthetic substances, posing more challenges to enforcement efforts.

"The rapid expansion of the illicit synthetic drug industry represents a major global public health threat with potentially disastrous consequences for humankind," the INCB president Jallal Toufiq said. "We need to work together to take stronger action against this deadly problem which is causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and untold harm to communities."

The INCB called for more coordinated action by governments and the private sector to curb the manufacturing, trafficking and consumption of illicit synthetic drugs. Enditem

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