Signs indicate EU heroin epidemic problems may get worse with Malta having 2nd highest usage

The annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) on the drugs phenomenon in Europe in 2008, published on Thursday in Brussels, confirms the need to bring society together to form a European alliance to tackle the issue of drugs. This latest report from the EMCDDA on the drug phenomenon in Europe indicates that the consumption of drugs in Europe is stabilising, whilst the number of deaths linked to drugs is on the increase.

” Every hour, a young person in Europe dies from a drug overdose. This alarming fact from the EMCDDA’s report confirms the urgent need to highlight to young people the serious risks of taking drugs”, stated Jacques Barrot, Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security. “To succeed in overcoming this problem, it is important to get society on board in every Member State. This is the goal of the European alliance on drugs which is aimed at involving and raising awareness of the risks associated with drugs amongst citizens, in particular young people, companies and local authorities,” highlighted Vice-President Jacques Barrot.

This alliance, proposed by the Commission’s new “Drugs Action Plan” 2009-20012, will be officially launched on the 26th June 2009 on the International Day against Drug abuse and Illicit trafficking. This new “Drugs Action Plan” adopted by the Commission on the 18th September 2008 focuses on reducing the demand and supply of drugs, tackling drug trafficking and concentrates on international action.

Some 12 million Europeans (between 15 and 64 years) have taken cocaine, 11 million have used amphetamines and 9.5 millions have used ecstasy. The latest figures for Europe confirm a stabilisation on amphetamine and ecstasy consumption. At the same time the figures show a steady growth in cocaine consumption, although this concerns only a small number of Member States. As regards heroin, the report does not show a decline in the epidemic problems linked to heroin, but certain signs indicate that the problems with synthetic opiates could worsen.

The lowest well documented estimates of problem opioid use available are from Cyprus, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Finland (though both the Czech Republic and Finland have large numbers of problem users of amphetamines), while the highest estimates are from Italy, followed closely by Malta and Austria.