This infographic coming from the publication New psychoactive substances: 25 years of early warning and response in Europe — an update from the EU Early Warning System presents some key statistics on notifications of the opioids to the EWS and opioids seizures (trends in the number and quantities seized), in the EU-27.
Number and types of new synthetic opioids notified for the first time, 2009-2021 (EU+2)
Trends in the number of seizures, 2009-2020 (EU)
Trends in the quantity of powder seized, 2009-2020 (EU)
Number of opioid seizures by substance, 2020 (EU)
Quantity of opioid powders seized by substance, 2020 (EU)
Source data
Table 1: Number and types of new synthetic opioids notified for the first time, 2009-2021 (EU+2)
| Year |
Other opioids |
Fentanyls |
Benzimidazoles |
|---|
| 2009 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 2010 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2011 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2012 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| 2013 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| 2014 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
| 2015 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
| 2016 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
| 2017 |
3 |
10 |
0 |
| 2018 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
| 2019 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
| 2020 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
| 2021 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
Table 2: Trends in the number of seizures, 2009-2020 (EU)
| Year |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|---|
| Number of seizures |
1 |
48 |
5 |
22 |
64 |
171 |
490 |
1368 |
1206 |
1157 |
580 |
594 |
Table 3: Trends in the quantity of powder seized, 2009-2020 (EU)
| Year |
Powders seized other (kg) |
Powders seized fentanyl derivatives (kg) |
Powders seized benzimidazoles (kg) |
|---|
| 2009 |
0.003 |
0 |
0 |
| 2010 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2011 |
0.017 |
0 |
0 |
| 2012 |
0.024 |
0 |
0 |
| 2013 |
0.744 |
0.084 |
0 |
| 2014 |
0.357 |
0.928 |
0 |
| 2015 |
0.87 |
0.984 |
0 |
| 2016 |
3.107 |
4.313 |
0 |
| 2017 |
4.972 |
11.382 |
0 |
| 2018 |
1.865 |
5.094 |
0 |
| 2019 |
0.931 |
10.853 |
0.11 |
| 2020 |
0.656 |
1.478 |
3.424 |
Table 4: Number of opioid seizures by substance, 2020 (EU)
| Substance |
Number of seizures |
|---|
| Isotonitazene |
44 |
| Carfentanil |
308 |
| Tramadol |
147 |
| Etazene |
16 |
| Ocfentanil |
29 |
| Others |
50 |
Table 5: Quantity of opioid powders seized by substance, 2020 (EU)
| Substance |
Powder seized (kg) |
|---|
| Isotonitazene |
3.263 |
| Carfentanil |
1.301 |
| Tramadol |
0.217 |
| Etazene |
0.159 |
| Piperidylthiambutene |
0.167 |
| Others |
0.45 |
