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Public Health
The organised efforts of governments, health systems, and communities to prevent substance-related harms, promote wellbeing, and improve population health outcomes. A public health approach focuses on prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, and harm reduction, while also addressing the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence substance use. It relies on surveillance data, evidence-based interventions, policies, and cross-sector collaboration to reduce the overall burden of substance use disorders and promote healthier communities.
Are There Health Benefits to Going ‘California Sober’?
Some people are going California sober, meaning they are cutting back on or quitting alcohol or other addictive substances in favor of using marijuana. In theory, the lifestyle choice aims to replace more harmful substances with something...
Football matchday moderation campaigns seem well-intentioned, but do they work – and what do they cost?
At football matches across the UK and beyond, fans increasingly encounter messages about moderation: pacing drinks, switching to low- or no-alcohol options, planning travel home, and “drinking responsibly”. These campaigns are often...
UNODC Current NPS Threats
The UNODC Early Warning Advisory highlights a continued global expansion of new psychoactive substances (NPS), with nearly 1,400 substances reported worldwide. In 2024 alone, a record number of substances were identified, including over 100...
Stimulant Use and Related Harms in Canada: Recent Trends
This report highlights a growing concern around stimulant use and related harms in Canada, particularly involving cocaine and methamphetamine. Data from multiple national sources show that stimulant-related deaths have significantly...
Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) data sheets
The European Union Drugs Agency has released updated data sheets providing a clear and comparable overview of drug-related indicators across six Western Balkan partners under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). These include...
The Opioid Crisis Practical Toolkit: Supporting Faith and Community Responses
This practical toolkit highlights the role of faith-based and community leaders in responding to the opioid crisis in the United States. Developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it recognizes that community and faith...
Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse
This study reviews evidence on the role of faith and spirituality in preventing substance use and supporting recovery. It highlights that many addiction treatment programs in the United States include a spiritual component, particularly...
2026 National Drug Control Strategy - The White House
The 2026 National Drug Control Strategy outlines a comprehensive roadmap to reduce illicit drug use and protect communities across the United States. It prioritizes stopping the flow of drugs and precursor chemicals at all borders through...
Playing legislative catch-up: Drug law reform in the Pacific
Drug trafficking in the Pacific is rapidly expanding, shifting countries from transit points to consumer and production markets. However, many national laws remain outdated, as they were designed for earlier challenges like cannabis and are...
Global Organized Crime Index 2025 - Europe Overview
The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index shows that overall crime levels in Europe remain stable, and the region continues to rank among the least affected globally. However, this stability hides a more complex reality, with criminal markets...
Policy Brief: Scam Centres – Combating a Global Phenomenon
Short Summary
Scam centres are a fast-growing global organized crime threat, generating over $1 trillion in losses in 2024. They use technology and psychological manipulation to target victims worldwide, supported by global criminal...
Medetomidine in the U.S. Illegal Fentanyl Supply Increasing Risk for Overdose and Severe Withdrawal Syndrome
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is issuing this Health Advisory to notify public health professionals, clinicians, laboratorians, and...
CCENDU Issue 7 (Part 2): Stimulant Use and Related Harms in Canada — Drivers and Adaptive Responses
This issue is the second of a special two-part series. Part 2 examines key factors driving stimulant use, what these trends mean for different groups of people and the responses being implemented to reduce harms.
Three key points of...
CCENDU Issue 7 (Part 1): Stimulant Use and Related Harms in Canada - Recent Trends
This issue is a special two-part series. The first part features a regional breakdown of reports from seven Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (CCENDU) nodes and five drug checking services from across the country. It...
Nonconceptus Mechanisms of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure That Disrupt Embryo-Fetal Development: An Integrative View
Abstract
PURPOSE: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is a leading cause of persistent neurodevelopmental disability, with additional adverse consequences to the offspring’s growth, metabolism, cardiovascular health, and immunity, among others...
Preventina (PreventAdvisor)
On 9 March 2026, we officially launched Preventina (PreventAdvisor)—an AI chatbot designed to support prevention science, policy, and practice.
This is not a generic chatbot. Preventina is built on a curated knowledge base of verified...
School Suspension as a Predictor of Young Adult Homelessness: The International Youth Development Study
School suspension in adolescence has been shown to predict homelessness in young adulthood, suggesting that it may be a point of intervention to reduce young adult homelessness. Under zero tolerance policies, school suspension is more...
Anti-Stigma Language Guide
We’re really pleased to launch our first report on stigma and language, which you can read on this page or download here.
We hope it will be a useful guide for organisations that are less familiar with the drug and alcohol treatment sector...
Stigma, Substance Use, and the Struggle to Access Rehab
Phoenix Futures provide a wide range of harm reduction, treatment and advocacy services. We have a keen interest, and long history, in addressing stigma and on behalf of the Anti-Stigma Network we seek to broader anti-stigma movement. In...
Evaluating the DALY impact of disease associated with second-hand smoke exposure in different socio-demographic index regions
Secondhand smoke (SHS) continues to be a major global health risk, contributing to cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and respiratory illnesses. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study across 204 countries, this...
