A Longitudinal Survey of Psychoactive Drug Abusers in Hong Kong

Drug abuse is a critical issue impairing social welfare in many societies. This study explores the demographic characteristics of drug abuse among sub-populations in Hong Kong as a developed and ageing society with large socioeconomic disparities. Significant changes in both the number and rate of drug abuse by drug type, age, gender, ethnicity, education and economic activity are documented during 1991 to 2016. Although narcotics analgesics is more common, stimulants and Ketamine are growing popular in Hong Kong, especially among the youth. The number of elderly drug abusers is increasing due to the ageing population, whereas the rate of elderly drug abuse is actually stable or decreasing. In contrast, drug abuse rate is increasing for the middle-aged and for groups with lower education. The findings support social policy design to curb drug abuse, and call for closer attention to these at-risk groups that are overlooked in Hong Kong.

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Substance Abuse Patient Characteristics: A Scene from an Emergency Department near the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Border

Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.1177/102490790100800402 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 196-201

Author(s):

WC Yuen ◽

WF Tang ◽

CH Chung

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Substance Abuse ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Drug Abuse ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Substance Abuse Problem ◽

Drug Abusers ◽

Accident And Emergency ◽

Accident And Emergency Department ◽

Abused Drugs

Objective Drug abuse is an escalating problem in Hong Kong, especially among teenagers and young adults. A study was conducted in order to obtain the characteristics of drug abusers presenting to the Accident & Emergency department of North District Hospital, which is located in the New Territories near the Hong Kong – Shenzhen border. Design Prospective study. Setting Accident and Emergency department of a public general hospital. Patients Drug abusers presenting to the Accident and Emergency department in a six-month period. Main outcome measures Epidemiological data including demographic data, types of drug taken, place of drug abuse and magnitude of cross-border drug abuse were collected and analyzed. Results The sex distribution was male 59 and female 13 (ratio=4.5:1). The mean age was 29.2 (range 14 to 67 years). Of interest, 29.2% abused drugs at home; 29.2% abused drugs in parties such as karaoke, rave and disco; 68% abused drugs in Hong Kong; 32% abused drugs in China and 6.9% claimed themselves first-time drug abusers. The commonest drug taken was ecstasy (40.3%) – the majority (55%) in China and the rest (45%) in Hong Kong. For organic solvent abusers, 57.1% were below 18 years of age. One patient died, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.4%. Conclusion Ecstasy was the commonest drug abused on both sides of the “border”. The majority of substance abusers were teenagers or young adult males. This study confirmed the significant magnitude of psychotropic substance abuse problem among the young population in the North District, indicating the urgent need for clinical and social intervention.

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Fears about treatment among young drug abusers in Hong Kong

International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health ◽

10.1515/ijamh.2011.023 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yida Y.H. Chung ◽

Daniel T.L. Shek

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Drug Treatment ◽

Treatment Failure ◽

Substance Abusers ◽

Young Male ◽

Fear Of Failure ◽

Rehabilitation Services ◽

Drug Abusers ◽

Scale Reliability ◽

Heroin Abusers

Abstract This study examined fears about drug treatment among 300 young male heroin abusers in Hong Kong (172 newcomers and 128 repeaters) recruited from non-government treatment agencies. An indigenous 35-item Fears about Treatment Scale (Fears Scale) was developed to measure fears about treatment among the participants. Results showed that four factors (fear of failure, fear of labeling or disclosure, fear of maladaptation and fear of withdrawal) were abstracted from the scale. Reliability analyses showed that subscales based on these four factors and the total scale were internally consistent. The findings showed that treatment failure was the major fear in the respondents. The present findings suggest that drug treatment and rehabilitation services should help clients, particularly young substance abusers, mitigate their treatment fears.

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