Format
Book
Publication Date
Published by / Citation
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
Original Language

English

Keywords
substance use
Prevention
addiction
guidelines
best-practice
evidence-based research

EMCDDA Insights: Prevention of Substance Abuse

Prevention of Substance Abuse by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is a report that draws on evidence-based research to assess substance use prevention interventions, in terms of their ability to effectively delay, reduce or prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances among children and young people.

It provides the following conclusions and recommendations for best practice:

  • Comprehensive measures that combine training for parents, children and family units may be effective for preventing alcohol abuse.
  • Interactive programmes that develop social-influence or life-skills models in a school setting may be effective for combating the use of a range of substances, both legal and illegal.
  • It may be wise to avoid using one-off information sessions or isolated emotional-education initiatives/other non-interactive measure in school settings as a way to tackle substance use.
  • Media campaigns combined with other preventative measures may be effective for reducing levels of tobacco usage.
  • Using legislative measures to influence the price of alcohol and tobacco products may be effective for reducing levels of consumption.

Click here to read the full report.