簡介
Listen to #Hashtag Hong Kong every Sunday morning at 8.15
Focussing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
(Sundays 8.15am - 8.25am)
最新
Cindy Ng, Senior manager, Program and Services of KELY Support Group
The landscape of substance use amongst young people in Hong Kong presents a significant public health challenge that demands comprehensive attention. KELY Support Group is committed to youth drug and alcohol prevention, recognising the complex factors contributing to substance misuse amongst adolescents and young adults. We need to come to a consensus that addressing this issue requires collaborative effort across our community.
Recent data from the Narcotics Division reveals a complex trend in youth substance use. While the total number of reported drug users has decreased in 2024 compared to the previous year, the number of young drug users has increased instead, by 15%. This highlights the need for targeted intervention strategies. We must also be aware that these statistics may not reflect the real situation as there are more hidden drug cases, and alarms should also be raised for them.
Of particular concern is the emergence of "space oil", a substance gaining rapid popularity amongst young people. Typically packaged as e-cigarette capsules, it contains etomidate, a medical anaesthetic that requires a doctor's prescription. This drug has become increasingly accessible through digital platforms, emerging as the third most prevalent substance amongst youth in the first half of 2024. Specifically, 75 out of 452 young drug users reported using space oil, with cannabis and cocaine remaining the top two substances.
Over KELY's three decades of prevention work amongst youth, we noticed a significant shift in young people's attitude towards substance use. The changing global landscape, with several countries legalising marijuana and adopting more open discussions about substance use, has piqued young people's interest and curiosity about different substances. This is particularly noticeable amongst those planning to travel or study overseas.
Social media has fundamentally transformed how young people access information about substances. While these platforms provide unprecedented access to knowledge, they also present significant challenges. Young people often struggle to distinguish between credible facts and misinformation, leaving them vulnerable to potential risks.
At KELY, we believe that prevention and education is crucial, especially before young people encounter illegal or harmful substances. Our approach focuses on imparting facts, especially potential risks and harm relating to substance use for youth, enabling them to make informed decisions. We work closely with schools to provide prevention education, creating safe spaces where young people can openly discuss drug issues and ask questions, with access to credible knowledge.
We recognise that drug use is often linked to mental health, with many young people turning to substances as a coping mechanism for stress, relationship challenges, and other life pressures. Therefore, our work extends beyond prevention to support the development of healthy coping strategies and robust support networks. We aim to equip young people with tools such as peer support skills to navigate the complex challenges of their teenage years effectively.
Schools, educators, parents, and the community must play a comprehensive and collaborative role in drug prevention and youth education. This approach requires a multi-dimensional strategy that goes beyond traditional information delivery. Schools should include evidence-based, age-appropriate curriculum that integrates interactive workshops and mental health support. Creating early warning systems is critical to this approach, where staff are trained to recognise signs of substance vulnerability and provide confidential counselling without judgement.
Parents need robust support to effectively engage with their children. Workshops that teach communication strategies can help parents understand adolescent psychology, and guide them in creating open, non-confrontational dialogues about substance use. Community involvement is equally crucial, requiring coordinated efforts between local health services, youth organisations, and support infrastructure that offers accessible counselling, mental health resources, and mentorship programmes.
In the digital age, prevention strategies must also adapt to technological landscapes. This means developing verified online resources, interactive educational platforms, and social media awareness campaigns that teach digital literacy and critical information evaluation. Young people need tools to understand online risks, practise responsible digital citizenship, and learn to distinguish credible information from misinformation.
The underlying principle of KELY Support Group's interventions is prevention, empathy, and peer support. Our organisation recognises that addressing youth substance use requires a fundamentally different approach from traditional punitive measures. Instead, KELY focuses on building individual resilience, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, and creating supportive environments that address the root causes driving young people towards substance experimentation. At KELY, we believe that by developing a comprehensive and unified ecosystem of support, education, and understanding, we can more effectively prevent substance misuse and empower young people to make informed, healthy decisions that positively shape their future.
重溫
Dr. Chan Ngai Yin, the past president of Hong Kong College of Cardiology
Heart diseases and stroke ranked as the third and fourth killers in Hong Kong last year. They are under the umbrella of cardiovascular diseases and share similar risk factors. There has been an increasing trend in the death rates caused by heart disease in the past 10 years. It is likely due to an ageing population and increasing prevalence of risk factors. In 2013, 7,258 people died from heart disease in Hong Kong. In my clinical practice, the number of younger patients suffering from heart attacks and requiring emergency percutaneous coronary intervention has been increasing in recent years.
The risk factors of cardiovascular diseases include different chronic medical conditions, namely hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. Lifestyle and behavioural risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, inadequate sleep and stress. The Population Health Survey 2020-22 performed by the Centre for Health Protection revealed a high prevalence of different cardiovascular risk factors in Hong Kong citizens. More importantly, most of the risk factors had increased compared with the results from a similar report performed 6 years ago. For lifestyle or behavioural risk factors, 14% of our population had ever smoked; 98% had inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, i.e. less than 5 servings per day; 25% had insufficient physical activity, i.e. less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week or an equivalent combination and 55% were overweight or obese. As for chronic medical conditions, 30% of Hong Kong people had hypertension, 8.5% had diabetes and 52% had hypercholesterolaemia. A worrisome observation from the Population Health Survey lies in the fact that the increase in the prevalence of many cardiovascular risk factors remained in the younger age group which probably explains my clinical observation of an increasing number of younger patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
Despite a high prevalence of various cardiovascular risk factors, the age-standardized death rates from both heart diseases and stroke have been slowly declining in the past 10 years. I believe this encouraging observation results from the advancement in medical treatment. We have more effective injection drugs for both diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia. We can treat heart failure patients with much-improved outcomes with several new medications. We can prevent atrial fibrillation-related stroke by more effective, safer and more convenient oral anticoagulants. The territory-wide emergency percutaneous coronary intervention service for patients suffering from heart attacks has become available in Hong Kong in recent years and many lives can be saved.
Nevertheless, prevention always remains a better approach than cure. One of the core missions of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology is heart health promotion. Our College has been actively promoting a heart-healthy lifestyle since its establishment back in 1992. Every year, we organize the all-year-round World Heart Day program. We promote exercise with the “Run-for-Heart” running program. Notably, our College launched the Heart Health Channel, H2C in short, in 2020 to provide accurate and high-quality heart health information to the public, enhancing their knowledge of heart health protection and reducing their risk of suffering from heart diseases. Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and supported by the Education Bureau and Department of Health, our College organized a 3-year project named “Heart-safe School” project to combat sudden cardiac arrest. We have successfully installed Automated External Defibrillators, commonly known as AED in short, in over 1,000 primary, secondary and special schools in Hong Kong. AED can be operated by a layperson to save the life of a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest through the delivery of electric shocks.
We are happy to see the new strategic direction laid down by the Hong Kong government in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint. The healthcare focus is being shifted from curative treatment to the prevention of diseases in response to an ageing population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. District Health Centres and Expresses have been established in different areas in Hong Kong which serve as anchors of the district-based healthcare model and leverage public-private partnership and medical-social collaboration.
To celebrate World Heart Day, the Hong Kong College of Cardiology will organize the Heart Health Carnival cum Run For Heart on 5th January 2025 at the Hong Kong Science Park. Please join us for interactive booths, stage performances and a fun run to raise our awareness about heart health. Don’t miss out on the chance! Visit the “HKCC Heart Health Channel (H2C)” to learn more.
