WRITTEN QUESTION E-0903/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Council. Steep rise in drug abuse among European schoolchildren.
Date: 2000-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, child protection, drug addiction, youth policy

C 46 E/74

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.2.2001

(2001/C 46 E/077)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0900/00

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 March 2000)

Subject: Medicines for children

Is the Commission aware that in Europe 67 % of children in hospitals have medicines administered to
them which are not intended specifically for children (unlicensed and off-label medicines)? In the case of
newborn babies, the figure is as high as 90 % (see annex).

In the United States,
the Government has amended legislation so as to encourage pharmaceutical
companies to carry out research into medicines specifically for children. Subsidies have also been paid to
provide further encouragement.

Will the Commission likewise arrange for such research to be carried out in Europe and make the
necessary funding available for it?

Will the Commission propose a directive on the administration of medicines specifically to children, along
the lines of the US legislation?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(17 May 2000)

It is quite true that in the vast majority of cases and in most therapeutic areas the medicines administered
to children are not in a suitable pharmaceutical form and have not been subjected to clinical studies that
have been targeted on that category of patient. Thus, in those instances, the marketing licences do not
provide for administration to children. Doctors needing to treat their patients use medicines intended for
adults, basing themselves on the limited amount of data available, although these have not been evaluated,
adjust the doses, and have pharmaceutical forms that can be administered to children prepared in hospital
dispensaries.

Following the example of orphan drugs, this can be explained by their lack of profitability and also by the
difficulty in producing a range of dose rates that are suitable for the various age categories. Indeed, only
the liquid pharmaceutical forms enable a practical adjustment to be made. However, most of the active
ingredients are in solid form, which as a general rule is more stable.

It is certain that access to treatment of that category of patient should move towards incentives such as
those provided in the United States. This being the case the set of regulations for orphan drugs just drawn
up by the Commission could serve as a basis for a set of regulations by adopting the criteria set.

(2001/C 46 E/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0903/00

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Council

Subject: Steep rise in drug abuse among European schoolchildren

(24 March 2000)

According to the annual report of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the use of cannabis among
European schoolchildren has risen very sharply: about one third of pupils in secondary education in
France, 25 % of thirteen year-olds in the United Kingdom and 69 % of young people who go to techno
music parties in Germany have experimented with the drug; there has also been an increase in the use of
the synthetic drugs Ecstasy and LSD, since young people associate these drugs with having fun. The report
also states that Albania has become a major producer of cannabis which is channelled mainly through
Greece, Italy and Slovenia; furthermore, the provision of information about the cultivation of the plant and
its derivatives through the Internet has led to a sharp increase in domestic production of drugs. Will the
Council say whether it knows which factors are responsible for the dramatic increase in the use of
cannabis and what steps have been taken to harmonise legislation and the position of the European Union
on the use of various narcotic substances?

13.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 46 E/75

Reply

(10 July 2000)

In the EU Drugs Strategy for 2000-2004 that has been endorsed by the meeting of the European Council
of Helsinki it is affirmed that cannabis is still the most commonly used illicit drug.

In this strategy, that is now being transposed into an action plan, specific importance is given to demand
reduction. EU action as regards demand reduction is conform to Guiding Principles and the Plan on
demand reduction adopted in 1999 in the framework of the United Nations. EU Actions cover all areas of
prevention. Addiction prevention strategies should be an integral part of community health policies. These
strategies should particularly focus on children and young people. Preventive measures should also be
developed for drug use in prisons and alternative measures to imprisonment.

All these principles are being transposed into concrete actions on which the Parliament will be informed.

(2001/C 46 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0904/00

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Steep rise in drug abuse among European schoolchildren

(25 March 2000)

According to the annual report of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the use of cannabis among
European schoolchildren has risen very sharply: about one third of pupils in secondary education in
France, 25 % of thirteen year-olds in the United Kingdom and 69 % of young people who go to techno
music parties in Germany have experimented with the drug; there has also been an increase in the use of
the synthetic drugs Ecstasy and LSD, since young people associate these drugs with having fun. The report
also states that Albania has become a major producer of cannabis which is channelled mainly through
Greece, Italy and Slovenia; furthermore, the provision of information about the cultivation of the plant and
its derivatives through the Internet has led to a sharp increase in domestic production of drugs. Will the
Commission say whether it knows which factors are responsible for the dramatic increase in the use of
cannabis and what steps have been taken to harmonise legislation and the position of the European Union
on the use of narcotic substances?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(18 May 2000)

The Commission is aware of the information presented in the annual report of the International narcotics
control board (INCB). The upward trend in the use of cannabis and synthetic drugs among schoolchildren
is also confirmed by the latest annual report of the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug
addiction (EMCDDA) in Lisbon. The proportion of 15- to 16 year-olds inside the Community who report
cannabis use ranges from 5 % to 40 % whereas the proportion of those who have used synthetic drugs
(amphetamines, ecstasy, LSD) varies from 1 % to 13 %.

On the supply side, the latest report from Europol confirms large-scale cultivation of cannabis in Albania
but states also that 85 % of the cannabis resin seized in the Community originates from Morocco.
Increasing production of cannabis and the manufacture of synthetic drugs in the Community are also
challenges identified in the Commission communication on a Community action plan to combat drugs
(2000-2004) that formed the basis for the Community drug strategy (2000-2004) endorsed in the
European Council
the Commission is working together with the
Portuguese Presidency to prepare a Community action plan on drugs (2000-2004) that will contain

in December 1999. Furthermore,