Pupils from Haikou, capital city of south China's island province of Hainan, draw on a giant graffiti banner on June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

China's dedication to combating drugs has made remarkable progress in recent years, with the rate of increase in the number of new drug addicts impressively falling from 30 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent this year.

Stringent anti-drug efforts and compulsory rehabilitation measures have also seen the number of drug users drop from 1.16 million in 2006 to 803,900 by last April, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Figures do, however, show that new addicts are getting younger, with the majority aged under 35. Therefore school education is called for to give more attention to drug awareness and the dangers of drug abuse.