President Xi Jinping has stressed the need for teaching members of the public - particularly young people - about the ill effects of drugs and the promotion of the anti-drug campaign to curb the rise in drug abuse and drug-related crimes.

According to Xinhua, President Xi made this statement on Thursday during an award ceremony for individuals and groups who have exemplified themselves in the fight against drugs.

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He also called for the promotion healthy lifestyles and urged all cadres of the Communist Party to work earnestly towards the elimination of the "menace" of drugs from the society.

"The anti-drug work concerns security, prosperity and people's well being, and a firm opposition to drugs is the routine standpoint of the Party and the government," he noted.

The Chinese government has adopted a "heavy-handed policy" towards drug production, trafficking, abuse and drug-related crimes. Officials have conducted routine crackdowns on drug dealers.

In April, the Ministry of Public Security revealed  that during a six-month-long crackdown on drugs that began late last year, law enforcement officials nabbed up to 133,000 people, handled over 600,000 drug use cases as well as over 110,000 drug-related crimes and confiscated over 43 tons of banned substances, CNN reported. While these figures reflect some level of success in the anti-drug campaign, the ministry revealed that all the aforementioned figures - besides the amount of drugs seized - have almost doubled year-over-year.

In total, Chinese authorities arrested about 169,000 suspects for drug-related crimes last year. Officials say more young people are getting involved with drugs as a large percentage of the people arrested for drug abuse and drug-related crimes in 2014 were under the age of 35.

President Xi has emphasized the importance of involving the general public in the anti-drug campaign in order to ensure its success. He explained that this issue is of great importance to the nation as it involves "public security."

Earlier in the year, the government issued a set of guidelines for dealing with narcotics-related crimes online, which called on website administrators and internet service providers to monitor, delete and report any instance when a person tries to promote or sell drugs using their platforms.

Foreign drug dealers have also infiltrated the local market to take advantage of the high demand for drugs in some areas. A recent report revealed that up to 90 percent of the narcotics seized in the country in 2014 originated from countries in the Golden Triangle. According to China Daily, over 1,800 foreigners were apprehended for drug-related crimes last year.  The Assistant Public Security Minister, Liu Yuejin, has revealed that China is working to strengthen her cooperation with nations in the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent region to improve the ability of the country's law enforcement agencies to track, apprehend and prosecute foreign drug dealers.

According to Liu, the country lost up to 500 billion yuan last year as a result of drug use. Nearly 50,000 of the registered drug users in China died in 2014. Nonetheless, the number of registered drug users in the country - which experts say is a pale reflection of the actual number of drug users - is nearly three million people.

TagsChina Anti-Drug Campaign, International Day against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking, China Drug Abuse, China drugs