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.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from