The use of illicit drugs in the nation is now most prevalent among people in their 20s and represents a growing concern because of the impact it could have on productivity, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said.
People aged 24 to 29 have replaced those aged 30 to 39 as the age group with the highest prevalence of drug use, a trend that first started in 2015, Division of Controlled Drugs director Tsay Wen-ing (蔡文瑛) said at an anti-drug campaign conference on Tuesday.
That trend is reflected in hospital data on reported incidences of illicit drug use from 2013 to last year, which showed that people in their 20s, at 43.9 percent, were the most common first-time users, followed by those aged 19 or under at 26.4 percent and those in their 30s at 21.1 percent.
The increasing prevalence of young people experimenting with drugs is a mounting concern for the government, especially since the 24-to-29 bracket is the backbone of the nation’s economic productivity, Tsay said.
Drug use affects not only one’s health, but also increases workplace accidents and poses a threat to productivity, she said.
The most commonly abused drugs are Class B drugs, with methamphetamine being the most widely consumed, she said.
Use of these Class B drugs can result in hallucinations that threaten users’ lives, she added.
The agency has begun to mobilize resources to raise awareness of drug use and prevention and, as of last year, it had received the support of 80 businesses that have promoted anti-drug campaigns, she said.
These efforts to combat drug use are a reaction to a 2014 survey conducted among nearly 20,000 Taiwanese aged 12 to 64, which found that 1.29 percent of respondents had used illicit drugs.
Based on the survey, the division projects that about 230,000 people in the nation have used illicit drugs, with 55.7 percent of users claiming friends or colleagues as the sources of the drugs.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition