Over 220,000 impoverished former drug users shake off poverty in China

China has seen a total of 227,000 impoverished people with a history of drug abuse shake off poverty since the country stepped up combined efforts in narcotics control and poverty alleviation in 2018.

The situation in 34, or a majority, of the listed regions where drug abuse used to be a serious problem has improved, leading to their removal from the country's priority list for narcotics control.

These figures are from a national conference held Tuesday in Liangshan, a prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The National Narcotics Control Commission said further efforts should be made to tackle drug problems and ensure the regions remaining on the list are removed at the earliest possible time.

Noting that 2020 is a decisive year for China to win the war against poverty, Du Hangwei, deputy head of the commission and vice minister of public security, stressed efforts to ensure that all the remaining impoverished people with a history of drug abuse are free of narcotics and out of poverty by the end of the year.