World Ministerial Summit to Reduce the Demand for Drugs and to Combat the Cocaine Threat would welcome a decision by the Board to that effect. He was of the opinion that if demand reduction would receive substantial attention in the Board's analysis of the world situation, a positive perspective would be created with regard to the success of drug abuse policies currently being pursued at the national and international levels. The heavy emphasis in the Board's report on the increasing difficulties encountered in the control of and illicit trafficking in drugs might give the general public and political groups the mistaken impression that the Conventions had failed to achieve their intended objectives. A new approach was needed to maintain the credibility of national and international efforts to control drug abuse. He referred to several countries where drug abuse did not pose serious public health or social problems and cited the progress that had been made in his own country as a result of successful drug abuse control policies. 68. In discussing the national drug abuse policies carried out by States, one representative spoke in favour of a pragmatic approach that might be justified by the different drug abuse situations prevailing in various countries or regions. Most other speakers who spoke on that issue felt that, in view of the health and social damage that could arise from drug abuse, a strict prohibition was still the best policy to pursue. Any lessening of vigilance could lead to a totally unacceptable situation. In this connection, reference was also made to a joint WHO/INCB project concerning the legal aspects of the - 18 - controlled distribution of sterile hypodermic needles and syringes. In the course of the discussion, one representative spoke in favour of the free distribution of sterile needles and syringes as an AIDS-prevention policy. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the efforts to combat drug abuse and the importance of reducing demand for drugs. It highlights the need for a new approach to maintain the credibility of national and international efforts to control drug abuse, and mentions the impact of drug abuse on public health and social problems. The text also touches on the issue of AIDS prevention through the distribution of sterile needles and syringes.

**Category**
Health