Director: Dr. Simona Pichini
phone: (+39) 06 4990 6545
mail: simona.pichini@iss.it
Activity
The National Centre for Addiction and Doping promotes a multidisciplinary and integrated vision to address the complex phenomenon of substance addiction, behavioural and doping. Addictions to substances such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs, including new psychoactive substances and behavioral addictions, such as gambling, food, internet and new technologies, and doping are important risk factors for public health.
The National Center for Addiction and Doping works for the prevention and contrast of addictions, contributing to the knowledge of the phenomena from an epidemiological point of view, to the optimization of diagnostic-therapeutic pathways and to the improvement of socio-educational interventions, through specific sectors of research, control, supervision, information, training and advice.
The activities of the National Centre for Addiction and Doping are designed on the basis of scientific evidence to translate knowledge into effective and appropriate public health interventions. The Center also facilitates the meeting between the demand of citizens and the offer of services in the area, also through the counseling activity of the Green Phones on addictions (smoking, alcohol, gambling, drugs) and doping.
Thanks to the research activities of the Analytical Pharmacotoxicology Unit, the Center identifies indicators of use, abuse and passive exposure to narcotic and psychotropic substances, including nicotine and alcohol, and offers support for improving the quality of performance of the pharmacotoxicology laboratories of the National Health System (NHS).
The Centre promotes the development of national networks of social and health resources and participates as a national reference centre in the European network Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances. Finally, it hosts the World Health Organization (WHO) Center for Research and Health Promotion on Alcohol and Alcohol-Related Issues.
Organization
The activities of the National Center for Addiction and Doping are carried out involving all human resources. The internal articulation of the Center includes referents who work in close synergy for each thematic area such as doping, tobacco, new tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, drugs, eating disorders, internet and new technologies.
Futher information: osservatorio.fad@iss.it; telefono.dipendenze@iss.it
Analytical Pharmacotoxicology Unit
Director: Dr. Simona Pichini
phone: (+39) 06 4990 6545
mail: simona.pichini@iss.it
The Analytical Pharmacotoxicology Unit is responsible for developing, validating analysis methodologies and monitoring pharmacologically active substances (e.g. substances of abuse, doping agents, biomarkers of alcohol consumption) in non-organic matrices (e.g. pharmaceuticals, food supplements, cosmetic products and material subject to seizure by law enforcement agencies) and in conventional and unconventional biological matrices for clinical and forensic research purposes. It also studies the pharmacokinetics and toxicokinetics of drugs, substances of abuse and doping agents in conventional and unconventional biological matrices for clinical and forensic purposes. The Unit's laboratory is equipped with the latest generation of high-resolution analytical instruments.
