Transcript Alcohol - Infodrogy

Drug issues across Europe
Christine Goodair, Head of Website and
Information Services, DrugScope
"Information without Borders"
28th Annual SALIS and 18th Annual Elisad
Joint Conference: Boston, September 2630, 2006.
Outline of Presentation

Geography of Europe

Overview of European issues relating to alcohol,
drugs, and tobacco

Key information resources

Facts from Elisad members
Balgarija
Belarus
Belgie/Belgique
Bosna i Hercegovina
Ceska Republika
Citta del Vaticano
Crna Gora
Danmark
Deutschland
Eesti
Ellada
Espana
FJRM
Hrvatska
Island
Italia
Kypros/Kibris
Latvija
Lietuva
Magyarorszag
Nederland
Norge
Osterreich
Polska
Rossiya
Shqiperia
Slovenija
Slovensko
Srbija
Suisse/Schweiz/Svizzera
Suomi
Sverige
Turkiye
Ukraina
Bulgaria
Belorussia
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Vatican City
Montenegro
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Greece
Spain
Macedonia
Croatia
Iceland
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Hungary
Netherlands
Norway
Austria
Poland
Russia
Albania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Sebia
Switzerland
Finland
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Alcohol
• The European Union is the heaviest drinking
region of the world.
• Most Europeans drink alcohol
• 55 million adults abstain (15%)
• Average consumption per drinker reaches 15 litres
per year
• In northern and central Europe beer is the main
drink.
• In southern Europe wine is the main drink
Alcohol
• Drinking to drunkenness varies across Europe
with it being less prevalent in southern Europe.
• Estimated that 23 million Europeans are
dependent on alcohol.
• Alcohol is responsible for about 195,000 deaths
each year
• Alcohol is the third highest of 26 risk factors for
ill health in the EU.
Source: Alcohol in Europe a public health perspective, a report for the
European Commission, Peter Anderson and Ben Baumberg: Institute
of Alcohol Studies, London UK June 2006
http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/doc/alcoholineu_summary_en.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/news_alcoholineurope_en.htm
Alcohol
• Many people suffer due to someone else’s’
drinking – including 5-9 million children living in
families damaged by alcohol and the 10,000
‘innocent’ deaths that occur to bystanders or
passengers from drink-drivers.
• Alcohol is also estimated to cost Europe €125
billion – equivalent to over €650 for every
household each year.
• UK adolescents are also the third-worst bingedrinkers in the EU, with more than a quarter 15-16
olds binge-drinking 3-or-more times in the last
month.
Alcohol
• UK adolescents are also the third-worst binge-drinkers
in the EU, with more than a quarter 15-16 olds bingedrinking 3-or-more times in the last month.
Source: Alcohol in Europe a public health perspective, a report
for the European Commission, Peter Anderson and Ben
Baumberg: Institute of Alcohol Studies, London UK June 2006
http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/news_alcoholineurope_en.htm
Alcohol
• Youth drunkenness is on the rise in many
Member States
• Overall, 20% to 30% of young people drink at
least once a week in most countries.
• Binge drinking occurs fairly
frequently,involving as many as 30% of young
people in the UK, Ireland and Poland.
• Alcohol use inflicts more acute and social
harm in the UK and Ireland than in the other
countries
Source:
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR412/
Key Information Resources:Alcohol
• Institute of Alcohol Studies
http://www.ias.org.uk/index.html
• Adolescents and Alcohol
http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/adolescents.
pdf
http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/comparisons
.pdf
• Alcohol - Binge Drinking
http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/binge_drinking.
pdf
• European alcohol information system
http://euro.who.int/alcoholdrugs/20020611_1
Key Information Resources:Alcohol
• European Council for Alcohol Research Rehabilitation and
Education (Eurocare)
http://www.eurocare.org/
http://www.eurocare.org/eu/health/workinggp.html
• RAND Europe an independent think tank
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR412/
• European Commission: Public Health
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcoh
ol/documents/ev_20050307_rd01_en.pdf
• World Health Organisation
http://euro.who.int/alcoholdrugs
Drugs
• Cocaine becoming stimulant drug of choice for
many young Europeans in parts of Europe
• Upward trend in use of amphetamines + ecstasy
• Cannabis still Europe’s most popular drug – more
even picture as national differences narrow
• Up to 2m problem drug users in the EU
• Polydrug use, central to EU drug phenomenon
Source: 2005 Annual report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu and powerpoint presentation of key
trends http://ar2005.emcdda.europa.eu/download/ar2005-en.ppt
Drugs
Other Stimulants:
• Upward trend in amphetamine and ecstasy use in
most EU countries (young adults)
• Highest rates of recent amphetamine use (young
adults) in Denmark, Estonia and UK (+/-3%). UK
only EU country with significant fall in recent use
Source www.emcdda.eu.int
Drugs
• Heterosexual transmission overtakes injecting drug
use as route of new AIDS cases
• Overall low HIV prevalence among injecting drug
users
• Hepatitis B and C still major causes of disease
among injecting drug users
• Overdose, main cause of death among opiate users,
but numbers of young fatalities falling
• Highest rates of recent ecstasy use (young adults)
in Estonia, Spain, Czech Republic and UK.
Stabilisation in Germany, Greece and UK
Drugs
• Europe still major centre for ecstasy production
but manufacture spreads to other parts of world
• Global amphetamine production and seizures still
concentrated in Europe
• Growing problems with methamphetamine use in
Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and US. No
significant use in EU, except Czech Rep + SK
• Experimentation with ‘magic mushrooms’, now
relatively common phenomenon (15–16 years)
Drugs
• Over 62 million Europeans have tried cannabis (or
over 20% of all adults)
• Around 20 million have used it in the last year
(over 6% of all adults)
• Around 9.5 million are ‘current users’ (almost 4%
of all adults)
• Roughly 3 million young adults, mostly males, are
estimated to be daily or almost daily, users
• Between 1.2 and 2.1 million problem drug users
and between 850,000 and 1.3 million injectors
Drugs
• Prevalence estimates since mid to late 90s show
some rise in number of problem drug users in
Denmark, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway
• Stabilisation or decline in the Czech Republic,
Germany, Greece and Ireland
• Elsewhere, no clear conclusions on trends
• Numbers of new heroin users may have fallen
across Europe (peak in most countries early 90s)
• Rates of injecting among heroin users in treatment
have declined in several countries
Drugs
• In Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Italy and the
UK, less than 50% of new opiate users entering
drug treatment say they inject
• Poly drug use is now a central feature of EU drug
phenomenon
• Substance-specific analysis no longer realistic
• Analysis of public health impact of drug use today
must take into account the complex picture of the
inter-related consumption of psychoactive
substances, including alcohol and tobacco
Source: 2005 Annual report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu and powerpoint presentation of key
trends http://ar2005.emcdda.europa.eu/download/ar2005-en.ppt
Key Information Resources: Drugs
• European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction
(EMCDDA) http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/
• Overview of the European drug phenomenon in 29
countries
• Data and analyses: across Europe and by country
• Latest trends and responses
• Selected issues:drug-related public
nuisance;alternatives to prison;buprenorphine
In print and online in 22 languages
http://annualreport.emcdda.eu.int
Key Information Resources: Drugs
• European Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/drugs/strategy
/fsj_drugs_strategy_en.htm
• DrugScope website European links page
http://www.drugscope.org.uk/links.asp?area=eu
• World Health Organisation
http://euro.who.int/alcoholdrugs
• European Legal database on drugs
http://eldd.emcdda.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseactio
n=public.Content&nNodeID=5l69&sLanguageIS
O=EN
Tobacco
• Tobacco is the single largest cause of avoidable
death in the EU
• Tobacco accounts for over a million deaths in
Europe as whole.
• Estimated that 25% of all deaths in the Union could
be attributed to smoking
• The EU is actively developing a tobacco control
policy.
Source:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacc
o/tobacco_en.htm
Key Information Resources:Tobacco
• Tobacco or health in the European Union: past present
and future. Aspect Consortium,2004
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacc
o/Documents/tobacco_fr_en.pdf
• Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) fact sheets such as
Tobacco policy in the European Union May 2006
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact20.html
• World Health Organisation Tobacco Control Country
Profiles
http://www.globalink.org/tccp/EURO_Summary.pdf
http://euro.who.int/healthtopics/HT2ndLvlPage?HTCode
=tobacco
• Tobacco Factfile British Medical Association
http://www.tobaccofactfile.org/
Key Information Resources:Tobacco
• World Health Organisation Tobacco Control Country
Profiles
http://www.globalink.org/tccp/EURO_Summary.pdf
http://euro.who.int/healthtopics/HT2ndLvlPage?HTCo
de=tobacco
• Tobacco Factfile British Medical Association
http://www.tobaccofactfile.org/
• European Network for Smoking
Preventionhttp://www.ensp.org/
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• Belgium - new drug law passed in 2003 stating
that possession of small amounts for cannabis for
personal use by adults would not attract
prosecution, except in cases of "public disorder"
or "aggravating circumstances". This created much
confusion so the law has had to be clarified.
• Oslo, Norway – heroin drought this summer
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• Netherlands – smoking is still the main reason
for premature deaths; young cannabis users are
exhibiting greater behavioural problems.
• UK – Research conducted by the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)and
published Sept 2006, found that alcohol causes
more problems in young people than all other
drugs and has shown the most recent growth in
use
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
Germany- decreasing trend in cigarette smoking
in teenagers (16-18 years) has been observed over
the last 1-2 years. Since summer 2006, the law on
smoke-free schools covers all federal states
Problematic drinking is a topic which is shifted to
the focus of attention in the professional debate.
An increasing amount of teenagers are seeking
treatment for alcohol problems.
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
Serbia - drug prevention is mostly based on fear
principle, embedded in state school programmes
The school survey using ESPAD method with
3000 students aged 16 years in Belgrade, Nis and
Novi Sad found high prevalence of alcohol
consumption (93%), use of non –prescription
medicines is popular.
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
Poland- on 6 September the Ministry of Health
accepted the National programme for prevention
of alcohol problems 2006-2010.
Targets of the Programme for 2006-2010 are:
• Assist more alcoholics to become sober and
healthy by effective treatment
• Reduction in alcohol consumption up to 20%
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• Reduction of harm caused by people dependent on
alcohol to their families
• Reduction of youth drinking
• Action against drunk driving and violent
behaviour in public places
• Foster awareness among society on alcohol
problems, its social and economic costs
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• France- government study has found that
youngsters are smoking and drinking less but are
increasingly indulging in the sort of weekend
drinking binges usually associated with their
British counterparts.
• A ban on smoking similar to that in Eire and
elsewhere is being considered.
• 150-180 000 problematic drug users in France,
with opiates being the main substance
• Campaign to retain free subutex treatment has
been won
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• Italy – dramatic increase in illegal drug use, with
poly-drug use increasing also. The new
government are proposing to move away from
repressive approach to a encouraging prevention
and a harm reduction approach
• Ireland’s 1st national longitudinal study on drug
misuse treatment shows significant reductions in
drug use and involvement in crime by participants
after one year of treatment.
http://www.ndc.hrb.ie/directory/news_detail.php?cat_id=&
news_id=3148&pointer=0
Round up of other interesting facts from
Elisad members
• Greece -new proposal for alcohol policy
• With an emphasis on prevention ; the proposed
preventive interventions should
• Address young people who have not started using
alcohol, special groups (e.g. pregnant women),
industrial and farming machine operators and drivers.
• The interventions vary from integrated school
programmes to media campaigns and information
leaflets. Specific measures are proposed for the
reduction of excessive consumption, and the
reduction of abuse or misuse.
Thanks to
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Marc Wauters ( Belguim)
Angita Peterse (Netherlands),
Brian Galvin (Eire)
Jorunn Moen (Norway)
Grazyna Herczynska (Poland)
Federica Ugaglia (Italy)
Thomas Roualt & Isabelle Michot (France)
Susanna Prepeliczay (Germany & Serbia)
Penelope Vasiou (Greece)