HONG KONG, June 26 -- The number of young drug addicts in China's Hong Kong has sharply dropped in recent years, and prevention is the key to combat drug abuse problem, the commissioner of the region's Narcotics Division said on Friday.

Speaking on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Hong Kong's Commissioner for Narcotics Erika Hui told Xinhua over the past five years, the overall number of drug addicts in Hong Kong has decreased 30 percent, while the number of people under 21 years old taking drugs dived 70 percent, thanks to the effectiveness of the five-pronged anti-drug strategy adopted by the division.

The strategies involved preventive education and publicity, treatment and rehabilitation, legislation and law enforcement, external cooperation and research. Prevention is better than cure, which, according to Hui, is the key to tackle drug abuse problem among young people.

"It will be much easier if they know the harm of drugs at a young age and refuse to take drugs, rather than to do remediation after the problem arose," the commissioner said. "Therefore, the division will continue to put emphasis working with schools."

Besides, more resources have been given to non-government organizations (NGO) to deal with the problem among young people at work. Hui said they concerned that some jobs that have long breaks between shifts might increase the chance of young people being exposed to drugs.

The NGOs will keep a close contact with different walks of life such as property and shopping mall management companies and teach their front-line staff to identify the characteristics of young people who are taking drugs.

Hui said this helps to create a safety net for the society by digging out the problem timely and resolve it.

To further educate young people the harmful results of abusing drugs and raise public awareness of the problem, the division will hold a large-scale event on Saturday.