The use of illicit drugs in Taiwan is now most prevalent among people in their 20s and represents a growing concern because of the effect it could have on the productivity of young people, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official Tsay Wen-ing (蔡文瑛) said yesterday.
Tsay, the director of the FDA’s Division of Controlled Drugs, told an anti-drug campaign conference that people aged 24 to 29 have replaced those aged 30 to 39 as the age group with the highest prevalence of drug use.
The statistics are reflected in hospital data from 2013 to last year on reported incidents of illicit drug use, which showed that people in their 20s were the most common (43.9 percent) first-time users, followed by those 19 or under (26.4 percent) and those in their 30s (21.1 percent).
“The increasing prevalence of young people experimenting with drugs is a mounting concern for the government, especially since those 24 to 29 are the backbone of economic productivity,” Tsay said.
“Drug use affects not only people’s health, but also increases workplace accidents and poses a threat to productivity,” she said.
“The most commonly abused are Class B drugs, among which methamphetamines are the most widely used,” she said. “Use of these drugs can result in hallucinations, which can lead to actions that kill people.”
“The FDA has begun to mobilize resources to raise awareness of drug use and prevention,” Tsay said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
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Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all