The year 2023 marks the midpoint of the work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global drug phenomenon continues to challenge both the implementation of SDG targets and efforts to promote peace, security and human rights. Read more
Amphetamine, methamphetamine and, more recently, synthetic cathinones are all synthetic central nervous system stimulants available on the drug market in Europe. On this page, you can find the latest analysis of the drug situation for synthetic stimulants in Europe, including prevalence of use, treatment demand, seizures, price and purity, harms and more. Read more
There is widespread misinformation about the effects of alcohol consumption on health, which was amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic through social media and internet channels. Chatbots and conversational agents became an important piece of the World Health Organization (WHO) response during the COVID-19 pandemic to quickly disseminate evidence-based information related to COVID-19 and tobacco to the public. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) seized the opportunity to develop a conversational agent to talk about alcohol-related topics and therefore complement traditional forms of health education that have been promoted in the past. Read more
Chatbots are computer programs that present a conversation-like interface through which people can access information and services. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a substantial increase in the use of chatbots to support and complement traditional health care systems. However, despite the uptake in their use, evidence to support the development and deployment of chatbots in public health remains limited. Recent reviews have focused on the use of chatbots during the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of conversational agents in health care more generally. This paper complements this research and addresses a gap in the literature by assessing the breadth and scope of research evidence for the use of chatbots across the domain of public health. Read more
The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the recently published randomized controlled trials in the field of digital health interventions for substance use disorders. Read more
According to the report, coca cultivation soared 35 per cent from 2020 to 2021, a record high and the sharpest year-to-year increase since 2016. The steep growth in supply has been matched by a similar swelling in demand, with many regions showing a steady rise in cocaine users over the past decade. Read more
In this article, the authors present an evaluation of online psychoactive substance trade via Telegram, a free encrypted social media messenger service. The evaluation took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the authors to monitor the effects of the spring 2020 lockdown in the Netherlands on substance trade via Telegram. Read more
A study from Singapore has evaluated the effectiveness of mental health chatbots in helping alleviate symptoms of depression. Read more
Darknet-hosted drug markets (‘cryptomarkets’) are an established model of illicit drug distribution which makes use of specialised online hosting and payment systems to link buyers and sellers remotely. Cryptomarkets appear to professionalise, gentrify and integrate drug markets. Therefore, they can be hypothesised to have effects on drug availability by allowing purchases by people who use drugs (PWUD) outside of face-to-face networks that have typified drug distribution. They may attract new buyers and may change use patterns by offering a greater range of higher-potency drugs. This paper examines the research on cryptomarkets’ potential impacts on drug availability. Read more
Men who have sex with men (MSM) who practice chemsex have a higher likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors and higher rates of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than those who do not. Read more
