By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-19 09:56:41 | Updated at 2024-12-19 12:48:38
3 hours ago
More than half of drug users in Hong Kong abused illegal substances for at least three years before seeking help, a survey by an NGO has found, with the youngest polled being a nine-year-old who took “space oil”.
The Hong Kong Christian Service, which revealed its results on Thursday, found that 55 per cent of the survey’s 304 respondents only sought help after taking drugs for at least three years. More than a fifth of this group of users had been using drugs for eight years or more before seeking help.
“Our analysis has found an overestimation of user’s ability to get off drugs,” said Samson Yip Wing-yue, the organisation’s service supervisor.
“Underestimating the negative effects of drugs … reduced drug users’ motivation to seek help.”
He added that the negative impression of drug addicts in society also deterred them from seeking help.
The survey of 304 drug users in the city was conducted from September to November this year.
