Hong Kong recorded almost 340 etomidate users in the first half of this year, a more than threefold increase compared with the same period last year.
Known more commonly as “space oil,” etomidate has been the focus of the city’s anti-drug campaigns in recent years amid its rising popularity among teens.
Commissioner for Narcotics Kesson Lee said on Wednesday that authorities recorded 338 etomidate users in the first six months of the year, compared with 85 in the same period last year, Sing Tao reported.
The number of etomidate users in the first half of this year has already surpassed the number recorded in the whole of last year, when the city recorded 300 etomidate users.
Lee also said authorities seized approximately 250,000 units of etomidate cartridges in the first six months of the year, an increase of more than 30 times compared to the 7,000 units seized in the same period last year.
The narcotics commissioner said he would not definitively conclude that the situation had worsened. The figures could suggest that more people were seeking help and that teachers and social workers have become more aware of the drug.
Consumed through an electronic cigarette, etomidate has become the city’s third most popular drug among users aged 21 and under, after cannabis and cocaine.
In February, authorities added etomidate added it to the Dangerous Drug Ordinance, under which offenders face up to a HK$1 million fine and seven years imprisonment for possessing space oil, or a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment for trafficking.
Previously, etomidate was only regulated by the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations, offences under which carry a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and two years’ in jail.
Anti-drug publicity efforts
Last month, the police force set up a designated 24-hour hotline for reporting suspected etomidate-related offences. Members of the public can make reports by calling the number or by sending a message through WhatsApp or WeChat.
On Wednesday, Lee said police had received 12 reports via the hotline so far, and that they were following up on the cases.
He also referred to the government’s renaming of the drug from space oil to etomidate in July, adding that the move was aimed at preventing sellers from “romanticising” the substance.
Since renaming the drug, the Narcotics Division has produced a series of anti-drug promotional materials, including videos in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, as well as banners that have been hung up across neighbourhoods.
In early August, the division also held an event in a shopping mall in Yau Tong featuring Cantopop star Aaron Kwok as an “honorary commissioner for narcotics. Kwok led the public through “anti-drug dance moves,” according to a government press release.
At that time, Lee said that in the first half of this year, police recorded 460 etomidate-related cases and arrested 561 people.
