China's two-year battle against drug taking is paying off - the annual growth rate of new addicts dropped from 30 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent last year.

The percentage of drug abusers aged under 35 has also dropped from 85 percent in 1998 to 59.3 percent today, according to statistics released by the National Anti-Drugs Committee on Thursday.

The country launched a nationwide anti-drug campaign in April 2005, aimed at restricting drug trafficking, and curbing the rising number of new drug abusers.

Police data shows that the number of drug abusers in China hit 1.16 million in early 2005.

But the number dropped to 720,400 last August, as a result of compulsory rehabilitation measures and strict checks on chemicals and narcotics, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The percentage of HIV infection through shared needles has also dropped from 68.7 percent in 2001 to 39 percent today.

"The effort has yielded remarkable results especially as the number of heroin abusers has shrunk gradually," said Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang.

He called for reinforced efforts in fighting heroin and curbing the spread of new types of drugs such as ecstasy and "ice".

"Measures should be taken to prevent poisonous chemicals, clinic narcotics and mental illness drugs from flowing into illegal channels," said Zhou, also director of China's National Narcotics Control Commission.

Zhou said the establishment of drug control systems for air, water, and road transport as well as the postal system, had effectively cracked down on drug trafficking.

A total of 64 inspection stations have been set up in Xinjiang, the major gateway for drug trafficking from the "Golden Crescent" region, the mountain valleys of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, into China.

A total of 64.4 kg of heroin has been confiscated and 44 foreigners arrested in the battle against traffickers from the region.

(China Daily June 16, 2007)