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5,000 BC: Estimated earliest recorded instance of drug use by humans. Studies show that the Sumerians used opium as suggested by their ideograms.

9: Number of types of legal drugs, as classified by online substance abuse treatment program eGetgoing.com. Includes alcohol, prescription narcotics, cough preparations, tranquilizers, sedatives, soma, prescription amphetamines, over the counter drugs and OxyContin.


100+: Number of illegal drugs listed in the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002” or RA 9165 per the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as Amended by the 1972 Protocol.

200+ million: Estimated number of persons between 15 and 64 years old who have used drugs at least once over the years 2006 to 2007, according to the same UN report. The figure is nearly 5 percent of the world’s population of persons aged 15 to 64.

6: Percentage of persons aged 15 to 64 who reportedly abused amphetamines in RP in 2004, according to the same UN report. This prevalence rate is the highest in the Southeast Asia.

19: Number of years that the World Health Organization has celebrated “World No Tobacco Day.” This year’s 20th year celebration will be on May 31.

30: Percentage of people who seek treatment for sex addiction in America who are women, according to Don Serratt, director of Life Works, which offers sex-addiction treatment in the UK. (2008)

200: Minimum dose of caffeine in milligrams needed to increase anxiety ratings and induce panic attacks.

1 in 100: Estimated ratio of people addicted to exercise against the number of people who rarely exercise.

20: Number of items on the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) by the Center for Internet Addiction. The online test measures mild, moderate, and severe levels of Internet addiction.

2006: Year that Europe’s first-ever detox clinic for video game addicts was opened. The clinic, Smith and Jones Addiction Consultants, is based in Amsterdam.

P10,000: Estimated price of methamphetamine per gram in 2008, according to the 2009 international Narcotics Control Strategy Report by the US Department of State.

70+: Percentage decrease in the number of illegal drug users in the country between 2004 and 2008, according to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB). The number of drug users in the country is now at two million about four million users less than in 2004.

P95,000: Fee for a three month program at the Life Management Foundation in Makati City , a treatment center for people with drug and alcohol problems. A six month program costs P165,000.00.

2008: Year that the cigarette ad ban in media was implemented. Effective July 01, 2008, all cigarette advertisements were banned on television, radio and print in accordance with the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 or Republic Act No. 9211.