At the WHO Consultation Meeting on mapping the treatment response to alcohol and drug abuse , held in Moscow. 28-31 May 1991, there was a consensus that "treatment responses to alcohol and drug abuse vacy considerably around the world" (WHO, 1991 ). This variability has also been noted within individual countries. Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs. One of the key impacts of illicit drug use on society is the negative health consequences experienced by its members. Drug use also puts a heavy financial burden on individuals, families and society. Across Europe, central Asia and Canada, a concerning picture of adolescent substance use emerges from a new WHO/Europe report. With over half of 15-year-olds surveyed having experimented with alcohol and a shocking 1 in 5 having recently used e-cigarettes, the risks to young people are clear. The new data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study also highlights a narrowing gender gap in substance use, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention strategies. The long ... Psychoactive drugs are substances that, when taken in or administered into one's system, affect mental processes, e.g. cognition or affect. 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 ’.
