In its most recent annual report published on 6 June, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) highlights a rise in the number of deaths caused by overdoses. The EMCDDA points to, “the continued availability of new psychoactive substances and the growing health threat of highly potent synthetic opioids”.
The monitoring centre highlights recent "concern over the increasing number of drug overdose deaths in Europe, which has risen for the third consecutive year”. A total of 8,441 overdose deaths are estimated to have occurred in 2015 (EU, Turkey and Norway), which translates into a 6% increase on estimates for 2014.
The number of overdoses has occurred in all age ranges. In 2015, the number of overdose related deaths rose in Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Sweden United Kingdom and Turkey. In this regard, Europe’s 1.3 million problem opioid users are among the most vulnerable.
Latest data show that the number of recorded methadone-related deaths (opioids used in substitution treatment) exceeded heroin-related deaths in Denmark, Ireland, France and Croatia.
New drugs are emerging at a slower pace, according to the report but overall availability is still high in Europe. In 2016, 66 new psychoactive substances (NPS) were detected for the first time via the EU Early Warning System (EWS). The total Number of substances available remains high and the EMCDDA is having to monitor more than 620 NPS (as opposed to around 350 at the end of 2013).
The report highlights new synthetic opioids, which are highly potent mimic the effects of heroin and morphine. While representing a small share of the market, “there are increasing reports of the emergence of these substances and of the harms they cause”, including non-fatal intoxications and deaths. The EMCDDA indicated that twenty-five new synthetic opioids were detected in Europe between 2009 and 2016 (18 of these were fentanyls). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)