The European Commissioner for Home Affairs has warned of a rise in use of fentanyl in Europe.

Ylva Johansson was speaking at a press conference following the release of a new EU study warning about the growing number of new drugs available across Europe.

The report raises concerns about the increased risk of poisonings and deaths due to high-potency and "more-novel substances".

The 'European Drug Report 2023' presents the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s (EMCDDA) latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe.

It focuses on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply with information supplied by EU member states.

It highlights the surge in synthetic drugs and the appearance of novel substances in Europe and the little known health risks associated with their consumption.

Ms Johansson and Alexis Goosdeel, Director of the EMCDDA, warned over the rise in use of fentanyl.

She said: "We must make sure America's present does not become Europe's future.

"A few weeks ago in Antwerp, I met with Anne Milgram, the administrator of the DEA, the US Drugs Enforcement Agency.

"She told me that last year in the United States, 107,000 people died after taking synthetic drugs - 70% of those, by taking fentanyl."

She warned that the drug and other synthetic opioids are easy to make and do not need to be smuggled across continents.

"Small quantities are enough for thousands of doses, (and) can be easily transported," she said.

"They are extremely potent, dangerous and deadly."

Mr Goosdeel added: "Drugs are everywhere today in Europe, there were never so many drugs and substances available in such a high purity or potency and also at stable or low prices."

The report says that the scale and complexity of illicit drug output within Europe was growing and that users were now exposed to a wider range of psychoactive substances.

"A growing concern is the implications of the inadvertent consumption of potent substances or mixtures of substances," it says.

Some of those substances include synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones and opioids.

At the end of 2022, the EMCDDA was monitoring around 930 new psychoactive substances.

Almost everything with psychoactive properties now has the potential to be used as a drug, according to the report.

In relation to Ireland, it notes that there has been an increase in the availability of recreational use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, in the country.

It says that the drug has become more accessible and cheaper and has a "growing popularity among young people".

Nitrous oxide has been linked to various health problems including poisonings, burns and lung injuries.

The analysis also suggests that the availability of drugs remains high across all substance types in Europe.

It says more services were needed to help mitigate the risks arising form the new substances and more harm reduction practices were needed.