VIENNA, Austria – March 2019: The first volume of the new biannual Current NPS Threats was launched with data reported to the Toxicology Portal (Tox-Portal) of the UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS. These data from post-mortem, clinical and other casework were reported by toxicology laboratories from 29 countries in all regions of the world and allowed to identify some key recent developments regarding health threats posed by NPS:

- Synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic opioids and stimulants account for the majority of NPS reported to the Tox-Portal
- Synthetic cannabinoids, in particular remain harmful, persistent and prevalent with more reports in 2018 than synthetic opioids
- Poly-drug use continues to be a factor and an important consideration in NPS fatalities
- Benzodiazepine-type NPS feature highly in driving under the influence of drugs.

The Tox-Portal is an online tool developed in collaboration with The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) that collects data on toxicology and harm related to the use of NPS at a global level.

For more information, please see:
Current NPS Threats Volume I, March 2019
UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) Toxicology Portal