Background

Novel public health interventions are needed to address the toxic drug supply and meet the needs of people who use drugs amidst the overdose crisis. Safer supply – low-barrier distribution of pharmaceutical grade substances – has been implemented in some jurisdictions to provide safer alternatives to the unregulated drug supply, yet no studies to date have explored professional stakeholder perspectives on this approach.

Methods

Purposive sampling was used to recruit professional stakeholders (n = 17) from four locations in British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, including...

Background

COVID-19 dramatically limited the scale and scope of local health department (LHD) work, redirecting resources to the response. However, the need for essential public health services—including substance use prevention—was not reduced.

Methods

Six quantitative data sources were examined, collected between 2016 and 2021, to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LHD substance use-related services.

Results

Before the pandemic, the proportion of LHDs providing some level of substance use prevention services was increasing, and many were expanding their level of provision...

Background

Healthcare workers across the world have risen to the demands of treating COVID-19 patients, potentially at significant cost to their own health and wellbeing. There has been increasing recognition of the potential mental health impact of COVID-19 on frontline workers and calls to provide psychosocial support for them. However, little attention has so far been paid to understanding the impact of working on a pandemic from healthcare workers’ own perspectives or what their views are about support.

Methods

Key healthcare databases (Medline, PsychINFO and PubMed) were checked, from...

The Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (CCENDU) is a pan-Canadian network of community partners co-ordinated by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). The network has sites in British Columbia, Manitoba, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

In April 2019, CCENDU published a bulletin on changes in stimulant use and related harms, which focused on methamphetamine and cocaine* based on data collected by CCENDU sites in November 2018: Changes in Stimulant Use and Related Harms: Focus on Methamphetamine and Cocaine.1 The...

Abstract

Background and aims

Among European countries, France is particularly concerned by adolescent tobacco smoking, especially in disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds (SES). We measured the respective contributions of parental smoking and family living arrangements to social disparities in smoking during adolescence.

A total of 13 314 adolescents answered a pen-and-paper questionnaire about their own tobacco consumption and the smoking of their parents.

Findings

Adolescents living within very privileged and privileged SES were significantly less likely to report daily tobacco...

Summary

This report presents an analysis of the drug markets in the European Neighbourhood Policy-East region covering Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Focused on providing insights into drug production, trafficking, sale, use and harms, the report contains data and information from studies conducted between 2019 and 2022 in the framework of the EU4Monitoring Drugs project, funded by the European Commission.

It concludes with an outlook on key areas for policy and practice to address emerging drug markets’ challenges.

Objective: to explore wastewater analysis as a methodology contributing to EU preparedness and response

Background: COVID-19 has raised the attention of Europe, and globally, on the importance of readiness towards potential emergencies. Improved and innovative monitoring methodologies are at the core of the research-based actions taken to respond to potential threats.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), also known as wastewater monitoring or wastewater surveillance, only began to gain traction as an epidemiological tool in the early 21st century with a diverse array of applications but...

Summary

The purpose of this report is to examine the current situation, risks and responses to the recreational use of nitrous oxide in Europe. To support this, the report also provides a state-of-the-art review of the chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of the gas. It is intended for policymakers and practitioners.

The report is structured as follows:

• Section 1 provides a summary of the current situation, established risks and responses.
• Section 2 is a technical review of the chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, individual risks and legitimate uses.
• Section 3 provides an overview of...

Background

Novel public health interventions are needed to address the toxic drug supply and meet the needs of people who use drugs amidst the overdose crisis. Safer supply – low-barrier distribution of pharmaceutical grade substances – has been implemented in some jurisdictions to provide safer alternatives to the unregulated drug supply, yet no studies to date have explored professional stakeholder perspectives on this approach.

Methods

We used purposive sampling to recruit professional stakeholders (n = 17) from four locations in British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, including...