Jun 25, 2024 · About 296 million people aged 15-64 had used psychoactive drugs in 2021 and about 39.5 million people are estimated to be affected by drug use disorders (harmful pattern of drug use or drug dependence). It is estimated that about 0.6 million death annually are attributable to drug use with about 420 000 male and 160 000 female deaths.

WHO Drug Information provides an overview of topics relating to drug development and regulation that are of current relevance and importance, and includes the lists of proposed and recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances (INN). WHO Drug Information is published 4 times a year.

The Unit works globally to improve health and well-being of populations by articulating, promoting, supporting and monitoring evidence-informed policies, strategies and interventions to reduce the burden associated with alcohol, drugs and addictive behaviours.

Mar 13, 2025 · The recommendations were developed by WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence--ECDD, which consists of global experts analyzing health risks and benefits of psychoactive substances circulating on global markets and alerting to include them under international control if evidence found that their use can cause harm for population health in ...

The first is regulatory issues, which can affect how medicines are bought to market, create lag times and cause the supply of medicines in some areas of the globe to be delayed long after they are available elsewhere. High prices, misuse of drugs and poor or unreliable drug quality contribute to this issue.

The use of psychoactive drugs and psychotropic substances without medical supervision is associated with significant health risks and can lead to the development of drug use disorders. Untreated drug use disorders increase risks of morbidity and mortality for individuals, trigger substantial costs to society including lost productivity, increased health care expenditure, and costs related to ...

Feb 9, 2025 · Out of 600,000 deaths attributed to drug use, about 450 000 are due to use of opioids according to the latest WHO estimates. It is crucial that people with opioid dependence and those at risk of opioid overdose have access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and care, which are of good quality, affordable, ethical and evidence based.

Nov 3, 1994 · This term and its equivalent, psychotropic drug, are the most neutral and descriptive term for the whole class of substances, licit and illicit, of interest to drug policy. ‘Psychoactive’ does not necessarily imply dependence-producing, and in common parlance, the term is often left unstated, as in ‘drug use’ or ‘substance abuse’.

May 17, 2024 · “By mapping the global burden of drug-resistant bacteria and assessing their impact on public health, this list is key to guiding investment and grappling with the antibiotics pipeline and access crisis," said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance ad interim. “Since the first Bacterial Priority ...

Apr 8, 2019 · The world drug problem has multiple public health dimensions encompassing vulnerability to drug use disorders and dependence, treatment and care of people with drug use disorders, reducing harm associated with drug misuse, and access to controlled medicines for medical pain relief.