Hong Kong’s drug users are starting younger, an NGO has warned, after a survey showed 46 per cent of respondents began taking drugs between the ages of 12 and 17, and 73 per cent before age 21.
Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS), which provides treatment and support for drug users, said the survey also showed that a majority of drug users delayed seeking help – sometimes for years.
A press conference held by Hong Kong Christian Services on December 19, 2024. Photo: HKCS.
The average age for a first-time drug user was 19.5 years old and the youngest was aged just nine, according to the survey of 304 users released at a press conference on Thursday.
Michael Ng, service supervisor of the HKCS Sham Shui Po Centre, told HKFP he had learned from frontline experience that the drug-using population was getting younger.
“Before, most people we served were aged above 30. Now we have more cases of adolescents using drugs,” Ng said in Cantonese, adding that the trend could partly be attributed to the emergence of “space oil,” a drug which contains a short-acting anaesthetic called etomidate.
Capsules containing space oil displayed at a press conference by Hong Kong Customs on November 27, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Over the past two months, HKCS had logged at least 25 new cases of young people using “space oil,” all of them aged under 18.
Ng said space oil appealed to young people because it relatively easy to carry and to use, and quickly creates a feeling of pleasure.
According to the survey, the most-used drugs were cannabis, ketamine and cocaine, followed by ecstasy, nimetazepam and methamphetamine. Meanwhile, 8.6 per cent of people interviewed had used “space oil.”
Some of the about 129 kilograms of suspected ketamine seized by Hong Kong Customs at Hong Kong International Airport, on April 9, 2024. Photo: GovHK.
The survey also showed that a significant portion of users delayed seeking help, with 55 per cent of interviewees only seeking detox services after using drugs for three years.
When asked why, 44.7 per cent said they believed they could quit if they wanted to, and almost 40 per cent said using drugs had little impact on their life.
Some 21 per cent of drug users said they delayed seeking treatment because they did not want others to know they are using drugs, while 13 per cent were afraid of the stigma.
Hong Kong has seen numerous incidents linked to caregivers in recent years. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The NGO urged schools and colleges to integrate drug prevention education into their regular curriculums and stress the harm caused by “space oil”. It also called for more social support to reduce the stigma linked to drug users.
