The Government will continue its campaign against drug abuse, which has shown encouraging results in recent years, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam says.
Mrs Lam spoke today of the need to remain vigilant, while officiating at the opening ceremony of an anti-drug event tying in with the United Nations international anti-drug day.
Co-organised by the Security Bureau's Narcotics Division, the Action Committee Against Narcotics and RTHK, the event kicked off this year's territory-wide campaign against youth drug abuse.
The event was also supported by youth organisations including the Junior Police Call, schools, singers and a band.
For 2012, the number of reported drug abusers declined by more than 20% over a span of five years, while the number of reported young drug abusers dropped by more than 50% compared with five years before.
However, the Government is very concerned about the increasingly hidden nature of drug abuse, and will continue a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the drug problem holistically.
She called on the community to continue working together in the fight against drugs, encouraging parents and neighbours to play a more active role in early intervention and encouraging drug abusers to seek help.
With the summer holidays approaching, Mrs Lam appealed to young people to remain vigilant against temptation from peers, to stand firm and say no to drugs. This was also the message of a new public TV announcement which premiered at the event, to be broadcast starting from today.