ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: A fresh census on drug addicts being conducted by the Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) would be released in 2007, Minister for Narcotics Control Ghous Bux Maher said here on Monday.

The survey would help determine the exact number of addicts as well as enable the government to chalk out viable plans to curb the menace effectively, he said.

It is difficult, at present, to ascertain the exact number of drug addicts in the country. However, according to a survey conducted in 2000, there were up to 4.1 million drug addicts in Pakistan, among them 0.5 million were heroin consumers and 60,000 injecting drugs users.

Mr Maher said his ministry in collaboration with UNODC was also working on a revised drug abuse control master plan (2007- 2011).—APP