A review of the monitoring of drug-related acute emergencies in 30 European countries, published in April 2014 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). 

The report aims:

• To present a summarised literature review of the most common health problems caused by cocaine use, focused on cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and neurological problems.
• To describe the sources of information on drug- and cocaine-related health emergencies in Europe and analyse relevant data from European countries’ recent annual National reports to the EMCDDA.
• To discuss the limitations of the data collected on cocaine-related acute emergencies and the public health implications of the cocaine-related results.
• To discuss the broader issue of using data from emergency settings to help monitor problems related to drug use.

How many new drugs were detected in Europe over the last year? Is cannabis getting stronger? How many Europeans have ever used an illicit drug? What are the latest drug policy developments in the region? These are just some of the questions explored in the European Drug Report: Trends and developments. This report provides a top-level overview of the long-term drug-related trends and developments at European level, while homing in on emerging problems in specific countries. Such a perspective is valuable, as it allows differing national experiences to be understood within the broader European context.

Author: EMCDDA

EMCDDA raised concerns over complex stimulant market and plethora of powders and pills in its 2012 anual report. According to this report, Europe is faced with an increasingly complex stimulant market, in which consumers are confronted with a wide variety of powders and pills.
The report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe presents the EMCDDA's yearly overview of the drug phenomenon. Published every autumn, the report contains non-confidential data supported by an extensive range of figures.

Author: Peter Anderson (Maastricht University)

This report commissioned by the WHO Regional Office for Europe shows that there is a substantial evidence base on the effectiveness of different policies in reducing the harm done by alcohol. Policies that regulate the economic and physical availability of alcohol are effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Enforced legislative measures to reduce drinking and driving and interventions individually directed to drinkers already at risk are also effective. The evidence shows that information and education programmes do not reduce alcohol-related harm; nevertheless, they have a role in providing information, reframing alcohol-related problems and increasing attention to alcohol on the political and public agendas. In all parts of the European Union, population-based interventions represent a highly cost– effective use of resources to reduce alcohol-related harm. Brief interventions for individual high-risk drinkers are also cost–effective, but are harder to scale up because of their associated training and manpower needs.

Author: European Comission

The brochure "Communicating EU Research & Innovation - A guide for project participants", which has recently been published by the European Commission, aims to offer a tool to better communicate about European research projects and their achieved results.

With a little creativity strategic communication efforts can help to show how project outcomes are relevant to everyday lives and how European collaboration has achieved more than would have been otherwise possible.