Memo: Spreading information on the risks of drug use: a European challenge

Young Europeans are less informed about the effects and risks of drugs than just a few years ago. While they widely use the Internet to gather knowledge, a new Eurobarometer survey, published by the European Commission on the 21 August 2014, shows that compared to 2011, respondents are less likely to have received such information from most sources, in particular from media campaigns and school prevention programmes.

More than one quarter of young people (29%) say they have not been informed at all in the past year about the effects and risks of so-called legal highs – currently legal substances that imitate the effects of illegal drugs. This comes at a time when the number of young people saying they have used 'legal highs' has risen to 8%, from 5% in 2011.

More than 13,000 citizens aged 15-24 were interviewed for the Eurobarometer "Young People and Drugs" across the EU.

ESO: Background information: International Day against Drug Abuse: new study shows increasing use of 'legal highs' among young Europeans http://www.europeansources.info/record/memo-international-day-against-drug-abuse-new-study-shows-increasing-use-of-legal-highs-among-young-europeans/

European Commission: DG Justice: Drug control policy http://ec.europa.eu/justice/anti-drugs/index_en.htm

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