Nitazenes: Health Education

The Department is actively monitoring the threat posed by synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, and is working to increase awareness of their dangers. Information on synthetic opioids and the dangers they pose is available from the helpline and website Talk to FRANK, the national drug information and advice service supported by the Government.

Education on drug use is also a statutory component of relationships, sex, and health education in England. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the Department for Education have commissioned lesson plans and other resources to support teachers to deliver quality drug prevention, which are available to schools. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. These resources are in the process of being updated and there will be increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs.

Drug and alcohol treatment services and local authority public health teams raise awareness of the risks of drug use through targeted campaigns with their local populations, and the OHID supports them in this. The number of ambulance call outs and hospital admissions due to the use of nitazenes is not collected in the format requested.