UN: Amphetamine use poses serious threat in Asia

MANILA, Philippines — Amphetamines are one of the most worrying threats of drug use in East and Southeast Asia, the latest annual UN World Drug Report shows.

Released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the 2018 report said health and security threats posed by the expansion of methamphetamine trafficking call for enhanced coordinated responses by countries along the drug supply chain and pose a serious health and security challenge to the population in the sub-region. 

“The increasing flow of methamphetamine is likely to increase the number of people suffering from the negative health consequences of methamphetamine use and developing a substance use disorder, but not all countries in the sub-region are equipped to serve an increasing demand for treatment,” the report said. 

The UNODC called for more investment in prevention and treatment and closer collaboration in drug control will be needed at the regional and international level to develop effective responses to these challenges.

In 2016, an estimated 34.2 million people worldwide, or 0.7 percent of the population aged 15–64 years, used amphetamines in the past year. 

“It is not possible to construct a specific estimate of use of amphetamines in East and Southeast Asia due to the chronic lack of data in the sub-region, but many countries in that sub-region consider methamphetamine use to be one of the most worrying threats of drug use,” the report said.

There are also concerns that an increasing number of countries are reporting methamphetamine use, especially among opioid users in West Asia.