This report presents the current status of alcohol consumption, alcohol-attributable harms and the implementation of alcohol control policies in the WHO European Region, using available data from 2010, 2016 and 2019.

A detailed overview is provided of the implementation of alcohol policies described in the 10 action areas of the European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol 2012–2020 (EAPA), including the current status of implementation of the five action areas of the WHO-led SAFER initiative:

1. Strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability;
2. Advance and enforce drink–driving...

This report presents new findings from the ESCAPE (European Syringe Collection and Analysis Project Enterprise) network, based on the chemical analysis of the contents of used syringes across sentinel sites in Europe.

Syringes were collected in 2018 and 2019 from the bins of street automatic injection-kit dispensers and at harm reduction services in eight European cities: Amsterdam, Budapest, Cologne, Helsinki, Lausanne, Oslo, Paris and Vilnius.

This report provides a brief summary of some of the challenges, old and new, that women and girls face in the context of the tobacco epidemic in the WHO European Region, outlining the gendered nature of tobacco use and exposure and how the tobacco industry continues to target them through gendered messaging. It also provides recommendations for approaches and policy interventions that take a gender lens to tobacco control.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) strongly underpins gender equality and highlights the importance of addressing gender-specific risks. This report...

This report reviews how opioid substitution treatment (OST) is implemented in European countries and examines the public health consequences of the diversion and misuse of prescription OST medications.

It looks at how OST medications are diverted to the illicit market, the motivations behind diversion and misuse, and considers the measures to prevent diversion and how they must ensure that the treatment remains available and accessible for those who need it.

Objective: To explore innovative programmes providing solutions in the field of homelessness and drugs.

Background: The association between long-term homelessness, problem drug use and alcohol dependence are well documented. Evidence suggests that a relatively small, long-term and recurrently homeless population has a high prevalence of mental health problems and substance dependence. In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is much concern that the health and social wellbeing of members of this population will worsen. Addressing their diverse and complex needs is...

The Pompidou Group calls for youth projects to submit applications for the 2021 edition of the European Drug Prevention Prize.

The Prevention Prize is awarded to highlight outstanding drug prevention projects that have proved successful in involving young people in their design, implementation and evaluation.

Up to three projects will be awarded a Prize. During the Award Ceremony, each will receive the Prize Trophy, the Prize Diploma and €5.000 to support implementation. Prize-winners tell us that winning the Prize has helped them gain greater recognition for their work.

The deadline for...

The purpose of this technical report is to provide an analysis of the available information on methyl 2-{[1-(4-fluorobutyl)-1H-indole-3-carbonyl]amino}-3,3-dimethylbutanoate (commonly known as 4F-MDMB-BICA), a synthetic receptor cannabinoid agonist that has recently emerged on the drug market in Europe, in order to support the risk assessment of the substance which has been requested by the European Commission.

Table of contents

1. Summary
2. Background
3. Chemical and physical properties, methods and the precursors used for manufacture or extraction
4. Legitimate use
5. Pharmacological and...