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It is estimated that almost a quarter of the adult population in the European Union have tried illicit drugs at some point in their lives and that almost 1 % of European adults are daily or almost daily cannabis users. Around three-quarters of these are aged between 15 and 34 years, and over three-quarters are male.
Opioid deaths linked to their use reach 10 000 and 20 000 per year, drug overdose being the main cause of death. Overall, opioid users are at least 10 times more likely to die than their peers of the same age and gender. HIV-related mortality is one of the best documented indirect causes of death among drug users. The most recent estimate suggests that about 1 700 people died of HIV/AIDS attributable to injecting drug use in Europe in 2010, but this number is decreasing each year.
The main findings of this analysis of the illicit drug problem in Europe point to a situation where long term patterns and trends continue, but the European drug markets continue to change and evolve rapidly. This is illustrated by the fact that, in 2014, over a hundred new psychoactive substances were detected, and risk assessments were conducted on six new drugs — both of these numbers are record high.
Despite improvements in the monitoring of acute drug related health effects, the limited capacity in this area continues to restrict our view of the public health consequences related not just to new psychoactive substances but, more generally, to contemporary drug consumption patterns.
Health and social responses to the challenges posed by new drugs have been piecemeal and slow to emerge, but are now gathering momentum. These include a wide range of efforts mirroring the full spectrum of responses to established illicit substances, from drug education and training activities, to user-led consumer protection interventions on the Internet, and needle and syringe exchange programmes based in low-threshold services. More...
