WRITTEN QUESTION E-0903/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Council. Steep rise in drug abuse among European schoolchildren.
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,