LISBON, Oct 26 (AFP) - Heroin use has stabilized in the 15 older memmbers of the European Union following the sharp rises recorded throughout the 1980s and first half of the 1990s, the bloc's drugs monitoring agency said on Tuesday.
But the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) said in its latest bulletin that there were signs of new problems linked to the intensive use of cannabis, cocaine and other stimulants.
And despite government efforts to discourage youth from taking drugs, the report concluded "there is no convincing evidence of an overall reduction in the number of young people starting to use drugs and, in some areas, an increase of drug use by young people can be observed."
The report, based on data collected in the 15 nations between 2000 and 2004, said the levelling off in the rise of heroin use had contributed to a small decline in the number of deaths blamed on drug use.
It also found that the prevalance of HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, among injecting drug users in the 15 nations has stabilized or is even falling.
"There is concern that progress in some countries may lead to a deprioritization of the issue on the public-health agenda, exposing some vulnerable sub-groups to the risk of new infection," the report said.
The drugs agency said there had been considerable increases in the number of syringes distributed to drugs users during the period in analyses in the 15 nations under study.
The EU was enlarged in May to take in 10 new members, primarily former Communist countries in central and eastern Europe.
10/26/2004 16:32 GMT - AFP