Daily news - 7th January 2019

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UK news

NHS Long Term Plan will help problem drinkers and smokers

Problem drinkers and smokers who end up in hospital will be helped by dedicated new services as part of the NHS Long Term Plan | NHS, UK

Hospital patients who smoke or drink to be helped to quit

Smokers and problem drinkers who are admitted to hospital in England will be given help to quit or cut down, to reduce demands on the health service | BBC, UK

MPs criticise NHS over failure to prescribe medical cannabis

Family of first child prescribed medical cannabis forced to follow bureaucratic ‘assault course’ | Guardian, UK

Misperceptions about vaping common among UK smokers

Research from King’s College London finds smokers and ex-smokers in the UK overestimate the harm from vaping, with fewer than 6 out of 10 accurately believing that e-cigarettes are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes | KCL, UK

Harm perceptions of e‐cigarettes and other nicotine products in a UK sample

[Open access] E‐cigarettes (EC) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are less harmful than smoking, but misperceptions of relative harm are common | Addiction, UK

Smoking shisha linked to diabetes and obesity, study finds

Smoking shisha "significantly increases" the risk of users developing diabetes and obesity, a major study has revealed for the first time | Telegraph, UK

Illegal tobacco 'commodity of choice for organised crime'

Organised criminals selling illicit cigarettes target Wales due to a lack of investment in enforcement, a senior investigator has said | BBC, UK

UK prisons should bring in airport-style security searches, says minister

Call comes as police chief says gangs are infiltrating prison service to smuggle in drugs | Guardian, UK

The BIG questoins - episode 1 - BBC iPlayer

Nicky asks the panel: Should drugs be treated like alcohol? | BBC, UK

What you were reading in 2018…

Articles from the Effectiveness Bank were downloaded 5 million times last year. Click the link to see what topics about substance use interventions were most popular | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

State of the Family Support Sector

Survey. The purpose of this survey is to look at drug and alcohol family support in terms of sustainability, funding, networks and partnerships | Adfam, UK

Medical cannabis - Royal Institution Lecture

Event. Mon 21 January 2019. The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS. Medical cannabis was not far from the headlines in 2018, with a number of high-profile cases challenging current UK law. But what constitutes a cannabis derived medicinal product? How do the active ingredients work? What conditions could be treated? And who should be able to prescribe what? | Royal Institution, UK

E-Cigarettes - UPDATED, with Professor Linda Bauld - Podcast

Suzi chats to Professor Linda Bauld from the University of Edinburgh about e-cigarettes and vaping | Say why to drugs, UK

New books on addiction

List for January | Addiction, UK

Cannabis users face 'postcode lottery' of police punishment

In some areas only one in ten caught with the drug were charged for possession - while in others, more than half were prosecuted | Mirror, UK

Cocaine use is ‘widespread’ among English footballers, says leading expert on drugs in sport

Professor Ivan Waddington says the FA does not take drugs testing as seriously as it ought to | Independent, UK

FA asks for information after England footballer alleged to have 'taken cocaine'

The Football Association is asking people to come forward with information after an unnamed England player was reported to have been "kicked out of a nightclub for taking cocaine" | BBC, UK

Wayne Rooney's arrest for public intoxication due to mixing sleeping pills and alcohol

Wayne Rooney's arrest for public intoxication was a result of feeling "disorientated" after taking sleeping tablets on a flight while drinking, says his spokesman. | BBC, UK

Man shot dead by armed police in Coventry named as Sean Fitzgerald

Earlier Cory Brown, a 28-year-old groundworker, claimed Mr Fitzgerald, a car trader who once served as a soldier, said he suspected police raided the property because they believe cannabis was growing inside | Telegraph, UK

Rainhill drugs raid: Merseyside Police recover cannabis plants worth £312k

Cannabis plants worth an estimated £312,000 were recovered in a drugs raid on Christmas Day, police said | BBC, UK

 

International news

Juul: The rise of a $38bn e-cigarette phenomenon

Juul has all the qualities of a standard Silicon Valley success - fat profit margins, explosive growth, and even the cultural cachet to make its name a verb | BBC, UK

El Chapo v El Vicentillo: son of cartel's co-founder testifies against drug lord

Vicente Zambada Niebla, son of the Joaquín Guzmán’s longtime partner, had been groomed to take over Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel | Guardian, UK

Mayor assassinated minutes after being sworn into office ‘by drugs gang’

Gunmen assassinated Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, of the National Regeneration Movement, as he made his way to a meeting at city hall in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca | Metro, UK

An online survey of Irish general practitioner experience of and attitude toward managing problem alcohol use

In the general practice setting screening, brief intervention and counselling have been shown to be effective in the reduction of problem alcohol use. This study aimed to explore Irish general practitioners’ (GPs) current practice of and attitudes towards the management of problem alcohol use | BMC Family Practice, Ireland

Here's What Experts Want You To Know About Taking MDMA Even If It Is Pure

A recent spate of deaths from illicit drugs at music festivals has reignited the call for pill-testing to be introduced in Australia | Buzzfeed, USA

Washington Governor To Pardon People With Misdemeanor Marijuana Convictions

“We shouldn’t be punishing people for something that is no longer illegal in Washington state,” Gov. Jay Inslee said | Huffington Post, USA

 

Blogs, comment and opinion

Everyone benefits if partygoers know what's in their drugs, so why make pill test pioneers go crowd funding?

The number of deaths from MDMA has been rising steadily, but there is no simple way to prevent people taking a drug for fun | Independent voices, UK

NHS Facebook blitz to target smokers, drinkers and the obese

[Free registration required] Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has ordered an end to “nanny state” nagging of the entire population because the messages do not work and irritate people who live healthy lifestyles | Sunday Times, UK

'You're going to freak out': how to conquer your Foma (fear of missing alcohol)

If you’re tempted by Dry January, don’t let fear hold you back – ditching booze doesn’t have to make you a bore | Guardian, UK

I’d resisted until now, but I’m doing Dry January

It turns out that sober me is just as scatty, fat and late, and also a little more bored | Guardian, UK

My name is Jack Monroe, and I’m an alcoholic. But now I’m recovering…

The food writer, journalist and campaigner opens up about how alcohol took over her life once fame struck. This is her mea culpa | Guardian, UK

Is It Time For Your First Dry January?

I’m trying to stop drinking, but alcohol won’t let me | Medium blog, UK

Every 11 minutes, another life in the United States is lost to an opioid overdose. The epidemic affects old and young, rich and poor. It stretches across genders, races and state lines. And every year the crisis has grown deadlier | NYTimes, USA

What Advocates of Legalizing Pot Don’t Want You to Know

The wave toward legalization ignores the serious health risks of marijuana | NYTimes opinion, UK

Ending The Overdose Epidemic Starts With A Safe Supply Of Drugs

Providing users with a regulated supply of opioids as an alternative to toxic drugs sold on the black market will save lives | Huffington Post blog, Canada