For many people in Europe, especially emotionally disturbed teens, drugs are their best friends! But, as everyone knows, whether an addict or not, drugs are not good. Though they help people escape their troubles for a while, they lead to long-lasting ill-effects, such as risk of AIDS and hepatitis C. Due to the increasing concerns among relatives and friends about drug abuse by their loved ones, they are rapidly using methods to test the presence of such substances in the body of suspected users.
Thus, with the rising prevalence of drug abuse in the continent, the
European drug of abuse testing market is predicted to grow to $3.0 billion by 2023, from $1.7 billion revenue in 2017, at a 9.6% CAGR during 2018–2023. Such kits and products can be used to determine the presence of a number of toxicants in the body, including amphetamines, opiates, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy, commonly known as MDMA, which is short for its chemical formula 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

Such tests are done at laboratories, hospitals, homes, and workplaces, among which hospitals account for the largest volume. This is because as drugs lead to serious health issues and overdose is potentially fatal, users often end up in hospitals. At such places, advanced equipment and trained professionals are deployed, who undertake the testing. Moreover, in Europe, efforts are on to better the healthcare infrastructure, which include procuring modern medical devices and equipment, including those which are used for the determining the presence of DOA in the body.
The testing volume is rising in other settings too; for instance, laboratories generally offer more cost-effective services than hospitals, which is why an increasing number of people are preferring such centers for DOA testing. Moreover, the rules in workplaces regarding drug usage are becoming stricter, and many companies are implementing testing programs for their employees, to track any risky behavior. Similarly, concerned parents are using these tests at home, especially on troubled teenagers, among whom the usage of drugs is rising fast.
As per the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA) in 2019, 17.5 million people in the 15–34 age group were cannabis users. Similarly, 2.6 million used cocaine, 2.1 million were MDMA users, and 1.2 millions used amphetamines. People in this age group, the younger ones especially, go through all kinds of mental stress, caused due to parent and peer pressure, relationships and break-ups, bad grades, childhood trauma, and sexual abuse, which often drives them to drug addiction.