TEL AVIV, September 1, 2009 (WAFA)- Israel is one of the world leaders in heroin use among young people, according to the United Nations' 2009 World Drug Report.

According to the report, published last week by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 1.9 percent of Israelis aged 12 to 18 have used heroin at least once in the past year.

Haaretz quoted Eilat Melis Cohen, of the Israeli branch of Foundation for a Drug-Free World, as saying that heroin users were in danger from their very first use of the drug.

'The user who buys heroin on the street never knows the real strength of the drug they have bought. Therefore, users are in constant danger of taking another dose. The heroin becomes more addictive. The drug rapidly eliminates immunity and in the end leaves the person sick and emaciated until their death.'

The report also found that Israel stands out from most other countries in the amount of Ecstasy tablets found in the country since 2007. The quantity of Ecstasy tablets nabbed by authorities in that period constitutes 2 percent of the overall quantity caught around the world, a higher percentage than that found in the United Kingdom, Italy or Spain.