BEIJING, April 10 -- The number of drug addicts under 18 years old has risen over the last seven years, deputy head of the China National Narcotics Control Commission announced Friday.

China has about 29,000 minors registered as drug addicts as of Friday, according to Li Xianhui, who is also secretary-general of the China Narcotics Control Foundation.

The figure accounted for more than 1 percent of the entire registered drug addict population, compared with 0.66 percent in 2008, according to Li, who was speaking during the launch of a new version of China's official drug control website, nncc626.com.

In response to the situation, Li said the commission planned to establish a WeChat account and a digital newspaper suitable to be read on mobile devices, to reach out to minors and interact with them, in addition to other popular social networking platforms and the commission's official website.

Meanwhile, efforts to fight drug-related crime would continue, according to the commission.

In 2014, police arrested more than 168,000 drug crime suspects and seized nearly 70 tonnes of drugs, including 25.9 tonnes of methamphetamine and 9.3 tonnes of heroin, according to a reported posted on the official website.