Preventing addictive behaviours in children
Recommendation 2262
(2023)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 13 October 2023 (24th sitting) (see Doc. 15830, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Ms Diana Stoica). Text adopted by the Assembly on
13 October 2023 (24th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its
Resolution 2520
(2023) “Preventing addictive behaviours in children”
and emphasises the responsibility that lies with member States to
guarantee the right of children to enjoy the best possible state
of health, including by adopting addiction prevention and treatment
measures. The persistence, and even growth, of this problem among
children have shown the long-term ineffectiveness of the national
policies and laws in force.
2. Noting that socio-economic difficulties are a major source
of stress for children and hence a cause of drug use and other addictive
behaviours, the Assembly recalls its work on poverty, in particular
its
Recommendation 2234
(2002) “Eradicating extreme child poverty in Europe:
an international obligation and a moral duty”. It regrets the inadequacy
of the
Committee of Ministers’
reply in this field and urges it to fully implement the
recommendation so as to achieve, in Europe, the global goal of eradicating
extreme poverty by 2030 (United Nations Sustainable Development
Goal No. 1.1), thereby helping to reduce one of the root causes of
addictions in children.
3. The Assembly welcomes the initial activities of the Council
of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions
(Pompidou Group) focusing on children and families affected by parental
drug use, and the Lisbon Declaration adopted on 14 December 2022,
which incorporated protecting the rights of persons belonging to
vulnerable groups and reducing the availability of illegal drugs,
as well as preventing addiction to the internet and online gambling,
into the priority activities of the Pompidou Group for 2023-2025.
4. In this context, the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers
to ask the governing bodies of the Pompidou Group to:
4.1 place emphasis on preventing
drug use among children by stepping up their co-operation with other
international organisations and civil society, basing their recommendations
on validated studies and involving children in their activities.
It notes the particular benefits of looking into the use of cannabis, which
is the drug most used by children. A summary of the consequences
of the use of cannabis on the physical and cognitive development
of children could serve as a basis for a cannabis prevention policy co-ordinated
at European level, and enable an approach taking account of the
best interests of the child with regard to the recurring issue of
the legalisation or decriminalisation of cannabis possession or
use, so as to deliver a clear message which will be understood by
the entire population and in particular by children;
4.2 focus their work on behavioural addictions facilitated
by online technologies and practices, placing emphasis on the study
of addictive behaviours in children and related prevention measures, including
by proposing indicators making it possible to identify this type
of addictive behaviour – indicators which should also be made available
in a child-appropriate format, in particular to enable children
to conduct self-assessments;
4.3 conduct studies on the prevalence of the use by children
of new psychoactive substances, often synthetic drugs, whether legal
or illegal, and propose appropriate prevention measures for children, parents
and health professionals.
5. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers instruct
the Council of Europe intergovernmental sector to devise tools to
raise awareness among children of the consequences of excessive or
addictive use of digital tools and applications, including online
gambling and betting, as part of the implementation of its Strategy
for the Rights of the Child 2022-2027.
6. The Assembly considers it worth developing regional networks
in Europe and beyond and extending the work carried out in the context
of the Mediterranean School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other
Drugs (MedSPAD) to all the member States of the Pompidou Group,
thereby making it possible to survey the specific national characteristics
of adolescent substance use and risk behaviours more broadly. Accordingly,
it recommends that the Committee of Ministers instruct the governing
bodies of the Pompidou Group to set up a broader surveying process,
covering all addictive behaviours, possibly by region, so as to
enable States to exchange good practices based on common indicators
concerning adolescents. This survey should include populations of
younger children.
