‘Prevention’ is one of the first issues to be mentioned in the public debate on drugs, but evidence of what works in practice to prevent drug use is often overlooked. Today the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) launches the first European ‘how to’ guide on conducting high-quality drug prevention. Entitled European drug prevention quality standards: a manual for prevention professionals, it will be presented at an international conference hosted by the agency in Lisbon this week (1).

Developing and implementing best practice in drug prevention in Europe are goals set by the current EU drug strategy and action plan (2). In line with these goals, today’s manual is the culmination of a two-year project to assess existing guidance in this area and to meet the need for a commonly agreed European framework to improve drug prevention in the EU.

With support from the European Commission, the project is the fruit of collaboration between the seven organisations of the ‘Prevention Standards Partnership’, working closely with the EMCDDA (3). Bridging science, policy and practice, over 400 international, European and national experts and stakeholders contributed to developing the standards via a dynamic process involving focus groups, consultations and studies.