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Global drug use at historically high levels
A new era of global instability is empowering organised crime groups and‘ pushing drug use to historically high levels’ says the 2025 World drug report from UNODC. These organisations‘ continue to adapt, exploit global crises and target vulnerable populations’, it states.
Around 316m people used a drug – excluding tobacco and alcohol – in 2023. This represents 6 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64, up from 5.2 per cent just over a decade ago. Although cannabis remains the most widely used substance, at 244m users, cocaine is now the world’ s fastest growing illegal drug market, with production‘ skyrocketing’ to more than 3,700 tons in 2023 – a 34 per cent increase on the previous year.
There are now 25m cocaine users worldwide, says UNODC, up from 17m in 2013. Cocaine traffickers are also breaking into new markets across Asia and Africa, the document adds, while the‘ vicious violence and competition characterising the
FEAR-DRIVEN NARRATIVES in the media risk seriously undermining tobacco harm reduction efforts, heard delegates at this year’ s Global Forum on Nicotine( GFN) in Warsaw.‘ The bad news is that having the facts on our side is clearly not enough,’ said Jacob Grier, a journalist covering tobacco policy for publications like Slate and the Atlantic.‘ Pervasive misconceptions’ that products like vapes and snus are as harmful as – or even more harmful than – cigarettes could see tobacco harm reduction failing to fulfil its‘ huge’ potential, with a significant illicit cocaine arena, once confined to Latin America, is now spreading to Western Europe as organised crime groups from the Western Balkans increase their influence over the market’.
The synthetic drug market is also continuing to expand, aided by the fact that the drugs can be produced closer to their intended markets – with lower operational costs and less risk of detection.‘ By 2024 more new nitazenes than new fentanyl analogues were being reported by member states to UNODC, and accounted for almost 50 per cent of all reported opioid NPS,’ the report says.
There are now more than 60m opioid users worldwide, the report continues, while‘ just one in 12 people with drug use disorders were estimated to have received
disconnect between the evidence and the hostile narratives that continued to dominate both the media and policy.‘ Journalists seek novelty, so if something isn’ t new it isn’ t news,’ Grier told the conference.‘ Millions of people dying from smoking isn’ t a story, but a few dozen people dying from adulterated vapes generates months of media coverage.’
A study led by Brighton and Sussex Medical School earlier this year concluded that media stories which repeated‘ misconceptions as conventional wisdom’ were deterring young people from switching to vaping from smoking
million people
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Source: www. unodc. org among women in in treatment
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any form of drug treatment in 2023’. Of the 14m people who inject drugs, 6.9m are living with hepatitis C, 1.7m are living with HIV and 1.5m are living with both. Opium production remains‘ comparatively low’ following the Taliban’ s 2022 ban – however, economic pressures faced by farmers‘ threaten this trajectory, while the emergence of synthetic opioids as an alternative for opiate users is also a danger.’ Report at https:// www. unodc. org /
‘ Fear-driven narratives’ undermining tobacco harm reduction
( DDN, March, page 4), while a 2023 survey of almost 12,300 people commissioned by ASH found that nearly one in four smokers believed vaping was‘ as or more’ risky than smoking – up from 27 per cent the previous year.
Public Health England stated in 2018 that vaping was‘ 95 per cent’ less harmful than smoking tobacco, and anti-smoking charity ASH backs vapes as an effective quitting tool – while also expressing concerns about levels of youth vaping. The World Health Organization’ s( WHO) position, however, is that‘ strong decisive action is needed to prevent the uptake of e-cigarettes’.
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CLOUD NINE The Forward Trust’ s Clouds House reunion event last month saw more than 250 alumni, staff, family members and supporters gather in Wiltshire, with talks, stalls, an art exhibition and more.‘ I came to Clouds House in 1984 and I’ ve been sober ever since,’ said one attendee.‘ I’ m very grateful – that’ s why I came back.’
WOW FACTOR A partnership between Turning Point, Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council that trains police officers to administer naloxone has won the public partnerships category at this year’ s Local Government Chronicle Awards.‘ The clarity on the role of each partner and the way they overcome challenges was truly impressive,’ the judges stated.‘ We were wowed by a partnership solution that is both innovative and pragmatic.’
BRISTOL BOUND An event to discuss the next steps for Bristol as a‘ harm reduction and inclusive recovery city’ will take place on 17 July at City Hall, Bristol – with speakers including representatives from Transform, Cranstoun and Glasgow’ s Thistle overdose prevention centre.‘ This is a unique opportunity to learn, collaborate, and contribute to building a healthier, more compassionate city,’ the organisers state. Details at https:// www. eventbrite. com / e / next-steps-for-bristol-asa-harm-reduction-andinclusive-recovery-citytickets-1389557105709
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