title: Social [and health] relevance of psychotropic substances monitoring in air.
abstract: Drug abuse assessment methods based on measuring illicit substances in waste waters are consolidated. The approach of ambient air monitoring looks questionable, nonetheless it can be explored if the variables determining the drug burdens are accounted for, or suitable co-contaminants are adopted to normalize concentrations to environmental and human contours. The general approach linking the airborne drug concentrations to consumption is presented and the case of cocaine is discussed according to measurements conducted in Italy. The cocaine/nicotine concentration ratio, identified as the most suitable tool, fitted well with anti-drug Police operations and people noticed for drug-related crimes, and with the abuse prevalence estimated in the cities investigated. According to that, the conversion factors of drug concentrations into prevalence estimates seem assessable, provided sufficient databases over space and time are collected. Further investigations are necessary to understand if airborne drugs cause adverse sanitary effects.
authors: Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, CNR-IIA, National Research Council of Italy, Via Salaria km 29.3, P. O. Box 10, Monterotondo Stazione, 00015 Rome, Italy. cecinato@iia.cnr.it
authors: Angelo
authors: A
authors: Cecinato
authors: Catia
authors: C
authors: Balducci
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Mollica
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Serpelloni
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003415:Crime; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs