Background: The “International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, Second updated edition” was published in 2018 by the UNODC and WHO of the United Nations. The International Standards set the stage for UN Member States to work together to prevent drug use worldwide. The second edition of the International Standards in particular provides an overview of the systematic reviews published between June 2012 and January 2018 as an update to the first edition, and the content reflects the latest scientific evidence.
Objective: The aim of this research note was to describe and examine global trends and perspectives in drug use prevention based on publication of the International Standards, in order to contribute to the future of smoking, drinking, and drug use prevention education in Japan.
Methods: An overview based on the International Standards.
Results: Some key words for understanding this publication are as follows: “drug use” regulated by three international drug control conventions, “substance use” including non-medical use of other psychoactive substances and use of cigarettes, alcohol, and volatile solvents in addition to drugs; “interventions,” “policies,” and “strategies” for drug use prevention, and the difference between “efficacy” and “effectiveness” in scientific evidence. Drug use prevention in the International Standards covers individuals from infancy to adulthood, but they have enhanced content on prevention programs with a particular focus on childhood and adolescence. The International Standards have also identified scientific evidence that has been obtained thus far and topics for the future.
Conclusion: In Japan, an important task is to develop drug use prevention programs in schools based on scientific evidence while referring to the International Standards.
