Combating the new psychoactive substances (NPS) and illegal drugs to protect public health is an ultimate goal for all countries , and the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), in the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), has  been successfully granted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance(SCSC) to be coordinate and host 2019 APEC International Workshop on Food Safety and Threat from New Psychoactive Substances. The workshop will take place on June 11 and 12, 2019, at Taipei's Howard Civil Service International House. Scholars and experts from the United States, the European Council, Poland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, and Taiwan will give themed speeches on various analytical technologies. Through discussions and an exchange of views, we hope to learn about the state-of-the-art analytical technologies and ideas, thereby contributing to enhance Taiwan’s abilities to combat NPS and illegal drugs. The event is expected to attract over 150 guests from health care, law enforcement, and judiciary circles.

The abuse of NPS has become a global challenge. Drug dealers attempt to evade inspections and crackdowns by modifying the chemical structures of existing illegal drugs to create NPS. As a result, the variety of NPS has grown in the past few years, making control and screening of them difficult increasingly. This is also the case with illicit drugs, which come in myriad forms. Recent years it have seen a number of incidents in Taiwan involving illegal food and drugs, such as counterfeit Crestor tablets or faked Cialis and Viagra. For example, TFDA analyze the ingredient of Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen in counterfeit Viagra .This important public issue gives rise to a host of health threats and social problems, which Taiwan seeks to address it. 

By organizing the workshop, the TFDA hopes to work with a number of health agencies, the Customs Administration, and law enforcement in using advanced analytical technologies to stem the spread of NPS and illegal drugs. The workshop will serve as a platform for exchanging views and sharing the results of analytical technologies related to NPS and illicit drugs for experts. In so doing, we hope to enhance our analytical technologies, fortify drug abuse prevention systems, and, ultimately, protect the health of our citizens and drug safety.