Youth now majority of drug abusers in China

Young people below the age of 25 now make up the majority of drug abusers in China, an official with the country's Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said on Wednesday.

Li Guoqing, an official with the CFDA, told reporters at a press conference that over half of people who abused drugs in 2012 were below age 25, including some minors in middle and primary schools.

In 2012, methamphetamine abusers accounted for 14.9 percent more of total drug abusers than in 2008, according to Li.

The information comes from a report monitoring drug abuse in China in 2012, which found that synthetic drug abusers account for the majority of new drug abusers.

Li said the report also showed that the abuse of medical drugs has dropped every year for the past five years, from 30 percent of total drug abusers in 2008 to 8.2 percent in 2012.