VIENNA, Austria – February 2019: New psychoactive substances (NPS) have become a global phenomenon with 119 countries and territories from all regions of the world having reported one or more NPS. From 2009 up to December 2018, 892 different substances have been reported to the UNODC Early Warning Advisory (EWA) on NPS by Governments, laboratories and partner organisations.

The global NPS market continues to be characterized by the emergence of large numbers of new substances belonging to diverse chemical groups. Until 2015, the number of different NPS reported each year increased year on year but has since then shown signs of stabilization, albeit at a high level (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Number of different NPS reported each year, 2009-2017

Source: UNODC, Early Warning Advisory on new psychoactive substances.

Note: Plant-based substances are displayed in the graph, but their pharmacological effects are not included in the analysis as they usually contain a large number of different substances with various effects.