Rio, June 28, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Brazil reflects the global average in terms of the number of illegal drug users, according to Giovanni Quaglia, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Brazil and the Southern Cone.

The 2004 World Report on Drugs shows that there are 185 million drug-users around the world, about 3% of the total world population. This level of consumption is low compared with tobacco, which, even though it is legal to produce and consume, is responsible for serious damage to health. Approximately 29% of the world's population 15 or older consumes tobacco.

"When we add up all illegal drugs, Brazil's indicators give us a figure on the order of 2.5 - 3.0% of the population that consumes illegal drugs. So, it is within the average," Quaglia affirmed.

The report also shows that the most-used substance in the world is marijuana (around 150 million people), followed by amphetamines and stimulants. However, opium derivatives, such as morphine and heroin, continue to be the most troublesome drugs, with the greatest negative health effects.

On Friday (25), the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, took part in a symbolic act in Volta Redonda, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, marking the beginning of the incineration of almost 83 tons of drugs seized by the Federal Police. The event was included in the program of the National Anti-Drugs Week.

The report points out that the seizure of illegal drugs remained stable in relation to the 2000-2002 period. It is estimated that, throughout the world, 26 billion doses of all types of narcotics were apprehended. This constitutes a significant increase over the 1990's, when 14 billion doses were confiscated.

Reporter: Silva Diniz
Translator: David Silberstein