Publications

In 2008 the UK introduced a ‘duty escalator’ which meant alcohol duties (government tax collected by HM Customs and Excise) would rise by 2% above inflation each year until 2012. However, since then the preceding governments have abolished the duty escalator and alcohol duties have been cut or frozen.

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.

In Classification of Drugs: when science was left behind, the Global Commission on Drug Policy explains how the historical classification of psychoactive substances has contributed to the "world drug problem".

The latest SPYM newsletter provides an account of the visit from Deputy Secretaries and Directors, Government of India. It also discusses the ways art can be used therapeutically with children, new teacher training programmes and outreach services.

Focus on Youth Football and Alcohol is a joint initiative aiming to reduce underage drinking and heavy episodic drinking among young people, as both strongly affect the health and welfare of Europe’s population.

The evidence highlights that there are links between increased exposure to alcohol advertising and higher levels of drinking by young people.

SHAAP and Eurocare have published a summary report covering the discussions that took place during the 8th European Alcohol Policy Conference (8EAPC) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Scotland, on 20th and 21st November 2018. 

The conference covered the following themes:

Research suggests methamphetamine use is higher amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders compared to non-Indigenous Australians.

The Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses has produced its latest newsletter!

The newsletter highlights the new relationship with SPYM and ISSUP through the establishment of the ISSUP India National Chapter.

There is a report of the International Day for Street Children that was celebrated on April the 15th. 

Deaths in England directly caused by alcohol rose by 11% between 2006 and 2017. During the same period, hospital admissions in which alcohol misuse was a primary factor increased by 17%.

In 2017 alone almost 1 million hospital admissions were in some way related to this behaviour. That’s around 7% of all hospital admissions that year.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has a high prevalence in people who inject drugs in Europe, although HCV infection is both preventable and curable. 

This report, published by the National Records of Scotland, provides statistics of drug-related deaths in 2018 and earlier years, broken down by age, sex, selected drugs reported, the underlying cause of death and NHS board and council areas.

Key findings:

26 June 2019 was the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Multiple campaigns, rallies, poster designing and programs were conducted in the observance of the day. The theme of this year’s day was “Health fo

Monthly Newsletter from June 1, 2019 – June 30, 2019

The aim of the study was to show whether there was a connection
between drug use and eating disorders, as well as to identify the type
of drugs most widely used and to ascertain whether they are used to
suppress appetite. An “ad hoc” scale was developed using the items of the Eating Disorder
Diagnostic Scale, whose aim is to detect cases at risk of certain types of

The use of drugs among adolescents/youth often results in a high degree of distress for the family members who live with them. This in turn can lead to a deterioration of mental (psychological) health, hindering any attempt to successfully cope with the situation. The goal of our research was to study the effect of the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) program on parents of adolescents/young adult drug users.

The Youth Power Program aims to reduce the amount of injection drug use among Central Asian youth in order to stop a growing HIV epidemic. The goal of this program is to identify high risk youth subgroups and teach them how to make healthy and informed decisions about drug use and sexual behavior. 

To commemorate International Day against