The National Drug and Alcohol Survey (NDAS) has been conducted five times in Ireland.¹ However, although the NDAS provides prevalence rates regarding drug use, it can only collect robust information on patterns of use for the more commonly used drugs, such as cannabis. It does not collect data from a sufficiently large sample of people who use drugs to provide reliable information on patterns of use for less frequently used drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines, and new psychoactive substances (NPS).

There has been a great deal of commentary recently on the United Kingdom (UK) government’s stumbling efforts to increase economic growth through a combination of radical changes in tax and in employment and environmental regulations. The goal itself is seen as desirable: who would be against a sustained effort to increase national income and make resources available to pay people more and provide for the type of services expected in an advanced economy? It is the UK government’s reckless approach and strangely politically illiterate arguments that have generated the most interest, not the pursuit of economic growth as a policy goal. Ireland has measured its relative success in terms of increases in national wealth and, while the narrow basis on which this is built and the gloomy global outlook are causes for concerns, the nature of the growth being sought has changed little in recent decades.

The mission of the Pompidou Group (Council of Europe International Cooperation Group on Drugs and Addictions) is to contribute to the development of multidisciplinary, innovative, effective, and evidence-based drug policies in its member states.¹ Since the late 1980s, it has worked to support the integration of a gender dimension into drug policies and has delivered on a number of activities in this area.² Its latest output on this issue is Implementing a gender approach in drug policies: prevention, treatment and criminal justice. A handbook for practitioners and decision makers.³

The Pompidou Group (Council of Europe International Cooperation Group on Drugs and Addictions) is the Council of Europe’s drug policy cooperation platform. Upholding the core values of the Council of Europe – human rights, democracy, and the rule of law – is central to the group’s mission. To support a human rights approach to drug policy internationally, it has published Human rights in drug policy: a self-assessment tool to be used in assessing drug policy compliance with human rights.¹

On 22 September 2022, the Department of Health launched its new Prevention and Education Funding Programme.¹ As part of a wider suite of activities, the Department is undertaking to enhance the area of prevention and education. The fund aims to increase the focused delivery of prevention programmes, supported by the best possible evidence, among the school/university age population. The programme is designed to strengthen the prevention of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and the associated harms among this cohort.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) has issued a call for submissions to their new prevention and early intervention (PEI) What Works Ireland Evidence Hub.^1,2

Alcohol use as well as the associated harms in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region is among the highest in the world. A combination of population-level measures are recommended by WHO to address alcohol use and related harms. Key to the recommendations are measures that focus on limiting alcohol advertising, availability, and affordability, the latter including minimum pricing. The use of minimum pricing and minimum unit pricing (MUP), along with its strengths and limitations and evidence of its impact, are examined in a 2022 WHO report.¹

The Irish national drugs strategy¹ aims to encourage those who are using drug services to play a greater role in their own treatment and actively participate in service development through consultation with service providers and health service management. On behalf of the Department of Health, the Health Research Board (HRB) commissioned a report to systematically review and synthesise the international evidence on service user consultation in drug treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services.²

Following on from the United Kingdom’s (UK) Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) 2020 report on alcohol labelling,¹ further research was carried out by AHA to examine if alcohol labelling provides information on low-risk guidelines, ingredients, calories, and health information.²

Alcohol use is associated with seven different types of cancer and many other health conditions and is the leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality among those aged 15–49 years. Yet many people are unaware of this risk and it is not legally binding to display this information on alcohol products.^3,4

Based on recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Alcohol Framework 2018 in Scotland aims to reduce alcohol-related harm, including restricting alcohol marketing.^1,2 A 2022 report by Public Health Scotland sought to examine alcohol marketing restrictions in seven European countries (Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden) in order to inform consideration of alcohol marketing policy in Scotland.³

Globally, suicide is a significant public health concern with over 700,000 people worldwide dying by suicide each year.¹ A range of factors, especially mental disorders, which include substance use disorders and adverse life events, can increase the risk of suicide.² A study examining psychosocial and psychiatric factors and service engagement among people who died by suicide compared with a living control group in the Cork region (Cork City and County ) was published in 2022.³

There is a high proportion of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Irish prisons and a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV), making prison a high priority setting for HCV testing and treatment. However, HCV screening in Irish prisons currently occurs intermittently. Although every prisoner undergoes a committal health screening on entering prison and information is gathered on drug use and blood-borne virus testing is offered, many prisoners initially refuse, but then return later and request screening.¹

Substance misuse has been highlighted as a key area of need among prisoners and a 2019 systematic review estimated that the pooled percentage of prisoners in Ireland reporting a substance use disorder was 50.9% (95% CI: 37.6–64.2%).¹ A history of substance misuse has also been identified as a strong predictor for reoffending. Therefore, on release from prison, engagement with the Probation Service is a critical juncture at which assessment, intervention, and appropriate referral for substance misuse issues can take place.

The HIPE (Hospital In-Patient Enquiry) scheme is a computer-based health information system, managed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in association with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. It collects demographic, medical, and administrative data on all admissions, discharges, and deaths from acute general hospitals in Ireland. Each HIPE discharge record represents one episode of care; each discharge of a patient, whether from the same or a different hospital, with the same or a different diagnosis, gives rise to a separate HIPE record. The scheme therefore facilitates analysis of hospital activity rather than of the incidence of disease. HIPE does not record information on individuals who attend emergency departments but are not admitted as inpatients. Monitoring of drug-related acute emergencies in the Irish context refers to all admissions for non-fatal overdoses to acute general hospitals in Ireland.

In 2018, following a protracted process, the Public Health (Alcohol) Act was enacted to address alcohol use and associated harm in Ireland. The Act includes legislation restricting alcohol availability, advertising and promotion, sales and pricing: it aims to reduce population-level alcohol use and related harm but particularly to delay or prevent alcohol use among children and young people.¹

The Tabor Group is a provider of residential addiction treatment services in Ireland. It aims to offer hope, healing, and recovery to clients suffering from addictions through integrated and caring services. In addition to two residential facilities, the organisation provides a continuing care programme to clients who have completed treatment in order to assist with their recovery as well as a community-based programme. Its family support programme offers counselling to families whose loved ones are struggling with an addiction. In 2022, the Tabor Group published its annual report for 2021.¹ This article highlights services provided by the Tabor Group to individuals with a substance use addiction in 2021.

Coolmine Therapeutic Community is a drug and alcohol treatment centre providing community, day, and residential services to men and women with problematic substance use and to their families in Ireland. Established in 1973, Coolmine was founded on the philosophies of the therapeutic community approach to addiction treatment. This is primarily a self-help approach in which residents are responsible for their own recovery, with peers and staff acting as facilitators of change. Participants are expected to contribute to the general running of the community and to their own recovery by actively participating in educational activities and in group and individual therapy. This article highlights services provided by Coolmine in 2020.¹

UISCE, the Union for Improved Services, Communication and Education for people who use drugs (PWUD), published its new strategy in July 2022 entitled Peer partnership for change: UISCE’s strategy to build inclusion and participation of people who use drugs 2022–2025.¹