Nightlife Venues

International evidence identifies that drug use is common place within nightlife, across a variety of settings such as pubs, nightclubs, music festivals, private settings or domestic parties and at illegally organised gatherings or “raves” and holiday locations, which has led to the use of terminology such as “club drugs”, “party drugs” and “dance drugs” due to certain substances association with dance and party scenes.

Nightlife as a health intervention setting

The nightlife environment offers a unique opportunity to engage with drug using cohorts that health care professionals normally have no contact with in Ireland.

Based on EU guidance, the below approaches merit consideration as part of a comprehensive response throughout the night-time economy

Co-ordinated multicomponent interventions involving community stakeholders, generic health and emergency services, regulatory bodies, and policing and law enforcement
Environmental strategies, such as providing chill-out rooms or free drinking water
Training staff in nightlife venues
Rapid emergency measures
Provision of prevention and harm reduction materials
Early warning systems and monitoring of substances being consumed, including the provision of drug checking services

Learn more abiut approaches in the EU Healthy Nightlife Toolbox.

HSE awareness campaigns

We have coordinated a number of campaigns to raise awareness about the use of club drugs to help inform event attendees of the practical steps they can take to reduce the harms.

'If you go, go slow' Campaign: We have launched this new campaign to raise awareness as nightlife reopens in Ireland. We have a number of concerns in relation to the risk of non-fatal and fatal overdose. Learn more here.
HSE festival campaign 2019: We ran a social media campain and provided drug education and harm reduction stalls in colleges and at 3 events in 2019. Learn more about this campaign here.
USI Safer Student Nights: We developed a series of messages in collaboration with student services to raise awareness of club drug trends. Learn more here.