National Action Plan of the Information System in Addictions
The Information System in Addictions (ISA) is a comprehensive system for monitoring the situation in the field of substance use and behavioural addictions in the Czech Republic. Previously, the system was referred to as the Drug Information System (DIS), as it had historically focused solely on the area of addictive substances and, above all, illicit drugs. Since 2019, when the National Strategy for Prevention and Reduction of Harm Related to Addictive Behaviour 2019-2027 (National Strategy 2019-2027) explicitly integrated all addiction topics, i.e. alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, psychoactive medicines, gambling and digital addictions, the monitoring area has also expanded.
The monitoring is an indispensable component of the National Strategy 2019-2027 as well as the follow-up three-year action plans for implementation of the strategy. The current Action Plan on Addiction Policy 2023-2025, approved by the Government of the Czech Republic on 5 April 2023 by resolution no. 230, also highlights the need to ensure systematic and continuous monitoring of the situation across the full spectrum of addictions, i.e. the need to monitor the extent of substance use and other forms of risk behaviour in the population, including its health and social impacts.
The National Action Plan of the Information System in Addictions (NAPISA) is formulated as a tool to plan and frame ISA evaluations, succeeding the National Action Plans of the Drug Information System (NAPDIS) over past periods.
It is co-ordinated and guaranteed by the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction (NMC), established by government resolution no. 643 of 19 June 2002 in the Secretariat of the Council of the Government for Drug Policy Coordination (renamed by resolution no. 412 of the Government of the Czech Republic of 18 May 2022 to the Council of the Government for Addiction Policy Coordination), which is an organisational part of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and its activities are laid down in the statute of the Government Council.
The National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction is the Czech national partner of the European Union's decentralised drugs monitoring agency, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), based in Lisbon, within the meaning of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006, and Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1322 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2023 on the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
Since 2002, an annual report on the state of drugs in the Czech Republic, and since 2015 an annual report on gambling in the Czech Republic have been presented to the Government. The areas of alcohol, tobacco, psychoactive medicines and excessive use of new technologies have not been systematically monitored and evaluated over the long term.
As of 2021, the NMC handles a decision of the Government of the Czech Republic no. 650 of 19 July 2021 specific thematic reports focusing on each addiction area, namely:
- Report on Tobacco and Nicotine Products in the Czech Republic
- Report on Alcohol in the Czech Republic
- Report on the Problematic Use of Psychoactive Medicines in the Czech Republic
- Report on Illicit Drugs in the Czech Republic
- Report on Gambling in the Czech Republic
- Report on Digital Addictions in the Czech Republic.
All reports are available on this website.
