SINGAPORE: The average age that drug users in Singapore start taking illegal substances is about 16 years old, an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) survey has found.
About 41.8 per cent of those who said they had consumed drugs started doing so before they turned 18, according to the survey findings released on Wednesday (May 3).
The 2022 Health and Lifestyle Survey by IMH involved 6,509 randomly selected Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 15 to 65, and included questions on the consumption of illegal drugs.
Based on the survey findings, it is estimated that about 0.7 per cent of Singapore residents had consumed an illicit drug at least once in the last 12 months, said the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).
The most frequently consumed drug was cannabis (45.9 per cent), followed by Ecstasy (21.2 per cent) and methamphetamine (18.5 per cent). Another 11.2 per cent took heroin.
The majority of the respondents who said they had taken drugs also cited cannabis as the first illicit drug they had consumed.
“It is worrying, as teenage is an important phase of development,” said Dr Mythily Subramaniam, assistant chairman of the medical board (research) at IMH.
“Consumption of illicit drugs at this young age can impact the lifelong well-being of these young people. It can also affect their academic achievements, social relationships and can also increase the risk of development of mental disorders in the future.”
Several studies have identified that adolescents and young people are at higher risk of taking illicit drugs, she said.
“It is worrying that youths are adopting more permissive attitudes towards drugs,” a CNB spokesperson told CNA.
“We can stop drugs from coming in through the borders. But we also need to address the different ideas, attitudes and ways of thinking about drugs perpetuated by other countries and societies, with their own unique contexts that don’t necessarily apply to Singapore.
“There has been a strong push by parties with vested interests for more liberal drug policies, and their intense lobbying has brought about perturbing legislative changes in some countries.”
Last year, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise cannabis but issued a raft of regulations shortly after to curb its potential unchecked use.