MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the consumption of opioids

3.1.2017

pursuant to Rule 133 of the Rules of Procedure

Mireille D’Ornano

B8-1427/2016

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the consumption of opioids

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 133 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 69 000 deaths a year result from the consumption of opioids, and whereas in the United States half the deaths attributable to opioids are caused by analgesics;

B.  whereas the consumption of medical opioids in the European Union is four times less than in the United States, owing, in particular, to some Member States’ rules on prescribing strong analgesics;

C.  whereas, nevertheless, the consumption of medical opioids is increasing in most Member States, particularly Italy, which recorded a 292% increase in the sale of medical opioids from 2000 to 2010, and the United Kingdom, where the number of prescriptions for strong opioids for medical use, excluding cancer treatment, increased by 58% over the same period; 

1.  Calls on the Commission, via the European Medicines Agency and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, to introduce monitoring of the consumption of medical opioids in Europe, particularly class 2 and 3 analgesics;

2.  Calls on the Member States to follow the WHO recommendations and promote the reasonable availability of treatments such as naloxone.