Daily news - 22nd October 2015 |
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UK news
Drug deaths in Wales fall by 30%
The number of drug-related deaths in Wales has fallen by 30% over the last five years, the Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething today confirmed | Welsh Government, UK
PHE survey of needle and syringe programmes – 10 days to go
There are 10 days to go before PHE’s survey of needle and syringe programmes (NSP) closes on October 31st. A survey for providers of NSP is here and a survey for commissioners here. Responses to both surveys will be used to show the value of investment in interventions that reduce drug-related health harms | PHE, UK
Regional Roundtables
This Recovery Partnership briefing follows a roundtable event in Birmingham which considered how systems and services involved in substance use treatment and recovery can better address the needs of BME individuals and communities. It is part of a series of briefings highlighting innovative practice relating to a range of issues in recovery in different parts of the country | Recovery Partnership, UK
“We don’t get taught enough”: an assessment of drug education provision in schools in England
The findings from Mentor’s recent work on school-based alcohol and drug education have been published by the peer-reviewed international journal, Drugs and Alcohol Today. The paper presents findings from our London Youth Involvement Project and ADEPIS research, as well as key learning from the implementation of ADEPIS in schools in England | Mentor - ADEPIS, UK
Identifying prisoners in need of treatment for alcohol use disorders
Earlier in this Special Series, we have noted the lack of evidence-based treatment services for incarcerated people experiencing substance use disorders (SUD). When administrators at jails and prisons do decide to provide access to SUD treatment services, they must find a way to identify which prisoners need and will respond to these services. Today, The DRAM reports on a study that evaluated standard practices for identifying incarcerated people with SUD treatment needs | BASIS Online, UK
Addiction and Me: Cambridge graduate ''drank because I was sad''
In Addiction and Me, we hear from their families, medical and law experts as we reveal the emotional, financial and physical toll drugs and drink takes on the people, communities and services they touch | ITV, UK
Addiction and me: ‘I’ve always loved my children but there’s been times when I haven’t liked them’
To have one child who becomes a hardened drug addict is a parent’s worst nightmare. To have three is an unimaginable horror | ITV, UK
Drinking less in middle age can cut risk of dementia, says Nice
Health authority urges people to reduce alcohol intake, stop smoking and eat more healthily when they hit 40 to avoid ill-health in later life | Guardian, UK
Hangover cures: Drinking water will do nothing to cure a headache, say experts
Hangover cures are generally a myth, according to scientists | Independent, UK
New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) 'Legal Highs' animation
New animation warns young people about the dangers of taking 'legal highs' | Blackburn with Darwen Public Health, UK
Man left with hole in lung after e-cigarette spits out burning nicotine
Richard Courtney, from Horley, in Surrey, bought the £100 device - which is meant to turn the fluid into vapour - with the aim to give up smoking | Telegraph, UK
Politicians listen to frontline voices in Westminster
People involved in Voices from the Frontline came to Westminster on Monday to meet with MPs and Peers and ask them to help improve support for people experiencing multiple needs | MEAM, UK
AFS appoints new chief executive
Alcohol Focus Scotland is happy to announce the appointment of Alison Douglas as our new chief executive, following the sad loss of Dr Evelyn Gillan in July | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
Rugby man to launch Midland's first dry bar (PDF)
Karl Newton, who triumphed over his problems with alcohol after receiving help from The Recovery Partnership in Rugby, hopes to provide an alternative to the bars and clubs that litter the high street. Newton, who is originally from Birmingham, is currently fundraising for the alcohol-free space | Recovery Partnership, Addaction, UK
The Gary Seaman Award 2015
We are now accepting nominations for the Gary Seaman Award 2015: an award we present to outstanding practitioners who have made a real difference. The award is given out at our annual Candlelit Carol Concert | Adfam, UK
Richie Burnett apologies to fans after ban for positive cocaine test
Former world darts champion Richie Burnett has been banned for 18 months after testing positive for cocaine | BBC, UK
Maghera: Two questioned over £60,000 underground cannabis factory
Two men have been questioned about an underground cannabis factory in County Londonderry | BBC, UK
International news
Positive organisational climate promotes screening and brief intervention
From Brazilian primary care clinics, confirmation that a positive organisational climate featuring commitment to staff development and good links with the community is associated with overcoming the implementation barriers which undermine the public health potential of alcohol screening and brief intervention programmes | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK
Obama unveils new federal initiative to combat America’s heroin crisis
The president traveled on Wednesday to West Virginia to detail his plan to take action on the opioid crisis that has ravaged communities across the US | Guardian, UK. See also Obama promotes anti-heroin strategy in coal country | BBC, UK
Is Responsible Ohio's mascot Buddie 'the Joe Camel of marijuana'?
For the first time in the US, a campaign to legalize cannabis has taken on the air of a big business lobby – and in so doing risks alienating those who brought the movement this far | Guardian, UK
Proportion in US who report using marijuana doubles, survey finds
Study with more than 36,000 subjects suggests nearly one third of users, or 6.8m people, are addicted – but some experts question findings | Guardian, UK
Passive smoking in babies 'doubles risk of tooth decay'
Japanese study says newborns who breathe tobacco smoke are 50% more likely to suffer poor dental health | Guardian, UK
Ice use increases by six per cent among people who inject drugs but remains stable among ecstasy users
Crystal methamphetamine use among PWID increased by a further six per cent in 2015. But use of it, has remained stable among regular psychostimulant users | IDHDP, UK
French Experience with Buprenorphine : Do Physicians Follow the Guidelines?
Opiate dependence affects about 15,479,000 people worldwide. The effectiveness of opiate substitution treatments (OST) has been widely demonstrated. Buprenorphine plays a particular role in opiate dependence care provision in France | PLOS One, France
Obama Tells Outdated Opioid Treatment Industry It's Time To Change
Only "a small minority of Americans who might benefit" from the best treatment are getting it | Huffington Post, USA
New research shows nicotine increases codeine-induced analgesia
According to new research in rat models, nicotine use over time increases the speed that codeine is converted into morphine within the brain, by increasing the amount of a specific enzyme. It appears smokers' brains are being primed for a bigger buzz from this common pain killer - which could put them at a higher risk for addiction, and possibly even overdose | News Medical, USA
Researcher finds key clues about 'betel nut' addiction that plagues millions worldwide
For hundreds of millions of people around the world, chewing betel nut produces a cheap, quick high but also raises the risk of addiction and oral cancer. Now, new findings by a University of Florida Health researcher reveal how the nut's psychoactive chemical works in the brain and suggest that an addiction treatment may already exist | EurekAlert, USA
UN drugs office urged to publish leaked paper backing decriminalisation
Delegates at an international drug-policy conference in Malaysia urged the UN drugs office on Wednesday to officially release a leaked policy paper in which it makes a landmark call for decriminalisation | Medical Xpress, USA
Harm-reduction drug programs may get OK under new Liberal government
Health and legal experts are cautiously optimistic that a newly elected Liberal government will clear roadblocks to harm-reduction programs, such as supervised injection sites and prescription heroin, which clashed with Conservative ideals and were stymied by Stephen Harper’s government | Globe and Mail, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
Welfare-to-work report reflects our call for better support around multiple needs
The Work and Pensions Select Committee has today launched its report into the effectiveness of current Welfare-to-Work provision. The report follows an extensive inquiry, in which the Committee received oral and written evidence from a range of expert witnesses and specialist providers as to the value of national employment initiatives like the Work Programme | MEAM Blog, UK
Turning Point and Breaking Free enter long-term national partnership
Breaking Free Group, creators of a pioneering digital healthcare platform targeting addictive behaviours, has entered a partnership with leading health and social care organisation Turning Point | Turning point, UK
Mentor ADEPIS joins expert meeting with UNESCO, UNODC and WHO
Mentor’s efforts to promote evidence-based practice through the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service (ADEPIS) have been recognised at an international level | Mentor - ADEPIS Blog, UK
The economic case for decriminalising drugs
Is it better to have drug use made legal, and therefore taxed and regulated, or might this encourage more drugs to be consumed – with the social and other costs associated with that? | Independent Voices, UK
Can Anyone on Earth Come Up with a Good Reason to Jail People Who Take Drugs?
A draft United Nations briefing paper expressing support for the decriminalization of personal possession of drugs was leaked Monday by Virgin Airlines founder Sir Richard Branson, a drug reform advocate. Days earlier, the New York Times had apparently asked President Obama's "drug czar" about the same document | VICE, UK