Reported drug abusers fell to 8,833 in the first half of the year, down 5.1% on the same period last year, Commissioner for Narcotics Rosanna Ure says.

Speaking at an Action Committee Against Narcotics meeting today, Mrs Ure said the falling trend is mainly attributed to a drop in male abusers from 7,761 to 7,228.

Women abusers grew 4.1% to 1,605. Mrs Ure said particular attention will be paid to educating young women about the harmful effects of drug abuse and to helping them quit.

Heroin is the most commonly abused drug, although the number of users has dropped to 6,300 from 6,364. Ketamine abusers fell 30%, with those under 21 dropping 21.6%.

But poly drug abusers rose to 2,238, amounting to 25.6% of the total number of abusers. The phenomenon of abusers taking more than one drug is more popular among psychotropic substance abusers than those on heroin. Mrs Ure attributed the trend to youngsters' casual attitude to psychotropic substances, often underestimating their dire consequences.

To obtain scientific evidence on the harmful effects of poly drug abuse, the Government has recommended the subject be a priority research area for the Beat Drugs Fund.