WRITTEN QUESTION E-3016/02

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Study of drug dependency and HIV infection

A number of alarming and in some cases quite appalling events involving young people (many of whom were still minors) that have occurred recently have highlighted exactly how difficult an increasing number of young people in our countries are finding it to lead a stable life. The disenchantment felt by many young people has a number of causes in a society in which even politicians are becoming increasingly egotistical and distant and, precisely for this reason, are less able properly to address those causes. An ever-increasing number of young people are using soft drugs the first step towards the habitual use of harder drugs and the number of young people who are HIV-positive is on the increase.

With a view to obtaining a clearer picture of this specific manifestation of the disenchantment felt by our young people and to clarifying the scale of the problem, can the Commission state whether a study have been conducted recently in the Member States and the applicant countries with a view to ascertaining the real number of young people who are drug addicts, who have died from drug abuse and who are HIV-positive? If such a study exists, does it point to any improvement in the situation since the last studies were conducted?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(10 January 2003)

1. Data on prevalence of use of drugs on general and young population of the Union are regularly collected by the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon). The Annual Report on the State of the Drugs problem in the European Union and Norway 2002, as well as the Report on the drug situation in the candidate CEECs 2002 have been presented by the EMCDDA on 2 October 2002. Data are available on the web site http://www.emcdda.org/situation/themes/drug_use_general_population.shtml.

2. The Commission (through Eurostat the Statistical Office of the European Communities) has data on incidence (on the basis of the data collected by EuroHIV, Paris) and on mortality due to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the Union as well as for European Economic Area (EEA) and Candidate Countries. These data, for which a Statistics in Focus has been disseminated by Eurostat on September 2002, presents the trends 1981-2001, and can be desegregated following the different categories of transmission of this disease. The cumulative total of cases 1981-2001 of AIDS in the Union is 232 407. The percentage of cases of AIDS in the Injecting Drug User (IDU) transmission category has fallen in the last few years, from the 43,7 % of the total cases in 1996 to 33,2 % in 2001, although this remains the most important transmission category with 39,4 % of total cumulative cases 1981-2001 in the Union. A total of 32 517 cases of AIDS due to IDU transmission has been declared for young persons between 15 and 29 years of age for the period 1981-2001. The incidence per million of IDU cases of AIDS was 8,2 for the Union whole population and 3,4 for the 20-24 age group but it was 14,5 for the 25-29 age group which appears as the most problematic group of age in terms of AIDS related to IDU transmission.

3. Studies on prevalence of HIV antibodies among IDU are not available at national level in the Union. Results from some large local studies carried out between 1996 and 2001 found a prevalence of less than 5 % in two-thirds of Member States. The highest prevalence was found in Lisbon, Portugal in 1998/99 (48 %), followed by 33,1 % in 1999 in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid and Seville) and 25,9 % in the Netherlands (Amsterdam) between 1997 and 1999. Italy (Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Sardinia) tested the most injectors and had a prevalence of 15,1 % in 1999, compared with 16,2 % in 1998.

4. The forthcoming public health programme, adopted recently by the Parliament and Council includes activities relating to improve collection of health data as well as action on health determinants. Prevention of HIV/AIDS will figure amongst the activities to be undertaken.