But China has achieved some success where it counts most, among primary and middle school students, a senior anti-drug official said yesterday.

According to Chen Xufu, secretary-general of the China Anti-narcotics Foundation, drug education in primary and middle schools has made students more capable of identifying and refusing narcotics.

A recent questionnaire-based survey conducted in several major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, showed that 99 percent of the 3,000 interviewed students in primary and middle schools were aware of the dangers of drug addiction, and 87 percent said that if somebody offered them drugs, such as ecstasy, they would refuse and report the incident to teachers or police.

There are now more than one million registered drug users in China.

Primary and middle schools nationwide have made drug awareness part of the regular school curriculum.