This chapter analyzes the prevention situation in Europe, particularly in the countries of the European Union (EU), where 747 million people live. Europe is one of the continents with the highest drug use in the world, along with the United States of America. The predominant drug users are tobacco, alcohol, marijuana (hachis), cocaine and heroin. In Europe there is a common drug policy for all EU countries. They apply them and can extend them with additional measures. In these policies, one section is dedicated to prevention, although what is prioritized, as in all countries, is the treatment of people with addictions. Preventive actions are usually guided or agreed by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction (EMCDDA). One of its objectives is to promote prevention, as well as the evaluation of different preventive programs in several European countries at the same time (e.g., the Unplugged program), the development of good practices in prevention, and to make available databases on effective preventive programs, such as the EDDRA network (The Exchange on Drug Demand Reduction), and the XChange register of preventive programs, asr to support the development of appropriate preventive policies. This is exemplified by two European programs, Unplugged and Tú Decides, which have been shown to work effectively in school-based prevention. Prevention is oriented mainly to the school field, less to the family or community field, and in recent years the environmental prevention is gaining relevance. It is noteworthy that in Europe we have web portals for prevention programs, not only in the EMCDDA, but also in different countries on “Evidence-based prevention”. These include effective preventive programs. It is important to consider the relevant role of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR), or the development of collaborative networks in several European countries on prevention (e.g., IREFREA, SPAN project), in which professionals from different countries participate, which facilitates the exchange of information, knowledge and preventive programs. A specific European Union program is the COPOLAD project, which is led by Spain and oriented to Latin America. One of its sections is dedicated to drug prevention and demand reduction. The chapter ends with the most important conclusions on the current state of drug prevention in Europe and the measures that need to be implemented to improve prevention in the different European countries.

Drug Abuse Prevention in Europe

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发表日期：

2025年

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Elisardo Becoña,
Amador Calafat

摘要

This chapter analyzes the prevention situation in Europe, particularly in the countries of the European Union (EU), where 747 million people live. Europe is one of the continents with the highest drug use in the world, along with the United States of America. The predominant drug users are tobacco, alcohol, marijuana (hachis), cocaine and heroin. In Europe there is a common drug policy for all EU countries. They apply them and can extend them with additional measures. In these policies, one section is dedicated to prevention, although what is prioritized, as in all countries, is the treatment of people with addictions. Preventive actions are usually guided or agreed by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction (EMCDDA). One of its objectives is to promote prevention, as well as the evaluation of different preventive programs in several European countries at the same time (e.g., the Unplugged program), the development of good practices in prevention, and to make available databases on effective preventive programs, such as the EDDRA network (The Exchange on Drug Demand Reduction), and the XChange register of preventive programs, asr to support the development of appropriate preventive policies. This is exemplified by two European programs, Unplugged and Tú Decides, which have been shown to work effectively in school-based prevention. Prevention is oriented mainly to the school field, less to the family or community field, and in recent years the environmental prevention is gaining relevance. It is noteworthy that in Europe we have web portals for prevention programs, not only in the EMCDDA, but also in different countries on “Evidence-based prevention”. These include effective preventive programs. It is important to consider the relevant role of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR), or the development of collaborative networks in several European countries on prevention (e.g., IREFREA, SPAN project), in which professionals from different countries participate, which facilitates the exchange of information, knowledge and preventive programs. A specific European Union program is the COPOLAD project, which is led by Spain and oriented to Latin America. One of its sections is dedicated to drug prevention and demand reduction. The chapter ends with the most important conclusions on the current state of drug prevention in Europe and the measures that need to be implemented to improve prevention in the different European countries.