A collaborative community approach to adolescent substance misuse in Iceland

Substance use has become a major threat to health and human development in many European countries. In 23 out of 28 countries participating in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), there was a constant and substantial increase in substance use among secondary-school students between the years 1995 and 2003 (Hibell et al, 2003). Iceland experienced a similar upward trend in substance use (Sigfusdottir et al, 2008). Throughout the 1990s, the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs increased steadily among 15- and 16- year-olds. In 1998, approximately 17% of 16-year-olds had tried hashish, which was the highest frequency to be measured in Iceland, and over 80% reported that they had used alcohol once or more in their lives (Thorlindsson et al, 1998).