Authors: Björn Hibell (CAN), Ulf Guttormsson (CAN), Salme Ahlström (THL), Olga Balakireva (NASU), Thoroddur Bjarnason (University of Akureyri), Anna Kokkevi (University Mental Health Research Institute), Ludwig Kraus (IFT)

Overall, the use of illicit drugs among 15–16-year-old school students appears to have stabilised in 2011, according to the latest European study of this group published by the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs (ESPAD). The report, based on a 2011 survey in 36 European countries, also reveals a reduction in ‘heavy episodic drinking’ (five drinks or more per occasion). But the survey highlights country differences and the need for vigilance where cannabis, inhalant and tobacco use has been seen to rise.

Author: WHO Regional Office for Europe
The action plan was endorsed by 53 European Member States at the Regional Committee for Europe in September 2011 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It includes a wide range of policies and programmes that are relatively easy and cheap to implement, can reduce the harmful use of alcohol, promote health and well-being, improve productivity, and enhance human, health and social capital across the life course from birth to old age. This action plan proposes a range of options for the 10 action areas of the global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol that all European Member States can engage in.

Written by: Belinda Loring, Aileen Robertson

This policy guidance aims to support European policy-makers to improve the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions and policies to reduce inequities in overweight and obesity. The prevalence of obesity in Europe is rising in many countries, and rising fastest in low socioeconomic population groups. There is a strong relationship between obesity and low socioeconomic status, especially for women. Reducing health inequities is a key strategic objective of Health 2020 – the European policy framework for health and well-being endorsed by the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region in 2012. This guide seeks to assist European policy-makers in contributing to achieving the objectives of Health 2020 in a practical way. It draws on key evidence, including from the Review of social determinants and the health divide in the WHO European Region. It sets out options to reduce the unequal distribution of obesity in Europe, through approaches which address the social determinants of obesity and the related health, social and economic consequences ofthe obesity inequity gradient. 

Authors: Julia Kensy (IDPC), Camille Stengel (IDPC), Marie Nougier (IDP) and Ruth Birgin (WHRIN).

A number of reports have documented the negative consequences of current prohibitionist drug control policies on health, human rights and development, and these are the subject of growing international attention. The past thirty years has also seen a growing number of studies on women’s participation in all levels of the drug trade. However, limited research currently exists on the particular impact of drug control on women. This briefing paper focuses on this gap.

This briefing aims to highlight the effects of drug policy on women as producers, suppliers and consumers of drugs in order to inform and guide policy makers on practices that should be avoided, as well as highlight those policies which effectively incorporate and address women’s needs. This briefing also features ‘snapshots’ from women and service providers working with women that are affected by drug policies. These snapshots explore the complex consequences that drug policies have on both individuals and services. Such snapshots also highlight examples of interventions that seek to address the negative consequences of drug control and provide positive support to women.

Authors: Noemi Robles, Silvia Matrai, Vanesa Carral Bielsa, Joan Colom, Antoni Gual

Europe presents the highest rates of alcohol consumption per inhabitant, with an impact exceeding 6% of the DALYs lost. However, European researchers claim that most of the research in the alcohol field is conducted outside Europe. In order to assess this claim, a review of international indexed publications on alcohol marketing and availability, two cornerstones of alcohol public health policy, was performed.