Use and manufacturing of illicit drugs has declined globally, according to a new report from the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime.

The Christian Science Monitor reported June 27 that the UN estimated that total acreage dedicated to coca production fell 26 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2006. Heroin and cocaine use appears to have stabilized, although opium production in Afghanistan was cited as a continuing problem.

Authorities seized an estimated 42 percent of all cocaine produced globally and 26 percent of heroin, the report said.

"For almost all drugs -- cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines -- there are signs of overall stability, whether we speak of production, trafficking or consumption," said Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN drug agency. "The general message of this report is that we have some pretty robust evidence that containment, a word we first used in 2004, is becoming a trend, though we need in the next few years to prove that it is statistically and logically strong. It still could be a fluke, but we hope to prove that it's now cyclical."

The UN report estimated that about 5 percent of all 15- to 64-year-olds worldwide used illicit drugs, a total of about 200 million people. About 25 million were classified as "problem" users of heroin or cocaine.

The report warned that Africa could become a new target for drug producers under pressure in Latin American and Afghanistan.