Prevention of Drug-Related Deaths

Opioids are a class of drugs that act on the nervous system to produce feelings of pleasure and pain relief. Opioids have a high potential for causing addiction in some people and can cause life-threatening health problems, including the risk of overdose.

Over the years there has been a dramatic rise in the number of drug-related deaths worldwide. Finding ways to tackle the issue has become a public health priority.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction have published a report entitled Prevention of Drug-related Deaths designed to provide an overview of the current situation.

As well as providing a summary of overdose deaths in Europe, the report coversrisk actors, and ways in which risk can be reduced and deaths can be prevented.