Daily news - 9th September 2021 |
UK news
Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England - April 2020 to March 2021
This quarterly report presents results from the monitoring of the NHS Stop Smoking Services in England during the period April 2020 to March 2021 | NHS Digital, UK
System Errors
The Probation Service is failing people with drug issues, says chief inspector of probation Justin Russell | DDN, UK
Preventing harm, empowering recovery. A strategic framework to tackle the harm from substance use (2021-31) [Northern Ireland] (PDF)
We have set out five specific outcomes that we believe will help improve services for and tackle the harms around substance use | Northern Ireland, Department of Health, UK
Wine is only alcoholic drink that benefits health, study finds
[Limited number of free articles per week] Researchers also conclude that previous studies showing moderate drinking is better than being tee-total are flawed | Telegraph, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a comprehensive evidence-based alcohol strategy to reduce the harm caused by alcohol | They work for you, UK
FASD Makes Me, Me - video
FASD Makes Me, Me animation has been codeveloped with input, advice, feedback and ideas from young people with FASD, their siblings and parents/carers from the FASD Hub Scotland community. Premieres 8am, 9th September | FASDHub Scotland, UK
Dave's video from Flourish - video
Dave recounts his story of recovery | EDP, UK
Scottish Drugs Forum Training Courses - Oct - Dec 2021 (PDF)
Lots of new, free online courses announced | SDF, UK
National Dialogue on International FASD day: FASD Conference 2021
TODAY. Thu, 9 September 2021, 09:15 – 15:30 BST. On International FASD Awareness Day we are hosting a conference of leading FASD experts , including experts by experience | Sheffield Safeguarding Children Partnership, UK
Recovery Street Film Festival: Live Q&A
Thu, September 16, 2021, 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM BST. This year the Recovery Street Film Festival are looking back at the legacy of festival, bringing together previous winners and judges | RSFF, UK
Webinar: Substance Misuse Treatment and the Criminal Justice System
Mon, 27 September 2021, 13:30 – 15:30 BST. Keynote speech by HM Inspector of Probation, Justin Russell, followed by a good-practice presentations and a panel discussion | Collective Voice, UK
Report launch: 'Alcohol marketing during the 2020 Six Nations Championship'
Thu, 30 September 2021, 14:00 – 15:00 BST. Our webinar launches the findings and discusses implications of the University of Stirling's publication on Six Nations alcohol marketing | Alcohol Action Ireland, IAS and SHAAP, UK
Seven businesses apply to cultivate medicinal cannabis in Guernsey
The applications have been made to the newly established Bailiwick of Guernsey Cannabis Agency, which holds responsibility for granting the licenses as well as reviewing, regulating and inspecting the businesses | ITV, UK
Manx children as young as 12 receiving drugs sent in post by gangs
More than 30kg of cannabis worth more than £900,000 have been seized in the island's postal service since March last year | BBC, UK
International news
Francesco Flachi: Former Sampdoria captain set to return to football after 12-year drugs ban
In early 2007 Francesco Flachi was well on his way to becoming a club legend with Serie A side Sampdoria. Captain, scorer of more than 100 goals and called up by Italy for the first time. But his life changed in the hours after a game against Inter Milan, on 28 January 2007, when he tested positive for cocaine | BBC, UK
Drug-related deaths in Ireland: key patterns and trends 2008-2017. Drug insights report 1
In Ireland, since 2004, the Health Research Board (HRB) have produced the National Drug-Related Deaths Index (NDRDI). This compiles information on drug related deaths. This insights report will examine drugs deaths with a view to informing policy and facilitating the implementation of existing strategies such as the National Drug and Alcohol Strategy (Department of Health, 2017). It will present data covering 2008-2017 for poisonings and non-poisonings | Health Service Executive, National Office for Social Inclusion, Ireland
Alcohol Consumption In Ireland Decreased By 10.8% In First Half Of 2021
Drinks manufacturers and suppliers representative group Drinks Ireland said in a statement, "New Revenue Clearance figures show that alcohol consumption fell by 10.8% in the first half of 2021 (January-June), compared with the same period last year | Hospitality Ireland, Ireland
Marijuana use at historic high among college-aged adults in 2020
Marijuana use continued to rise among college students over the past five years and remained at historically high levels among same-aged peers who are not in college in 2020, according to survey results from the 2020 Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study | NIDA, USA
Monitoring the Future: 2020 Volume 2 College Students & Adults Ages 19–60 (PDF)
The present volume presents new 2020 findings from the U.S. national Monitoring the Future (MTF) follow-up study concerning substance use among the nation’s college students and adults from ages 19 through 60. We report 2020 prevalence estimates on numerous illicit and licit substances, examine how substance use differs across this age span, and show how substance use and related behaviors and attitudes have changed over the past four decades | The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, USA
Experts make weak recommendation for medical cannabis for chronic pain
In The BMJ, a panel of international experts make a weak recommendation for a trial of non-inhaled medical cannabis or cannabinoids (chemicals found in cannabis) for people living with chronic pain, if standard care is not sufficient | EurekAlert, USA
Researchers propose regulatory recommendations for e-cigarette use
Despite short-term harms and emerging negative long-term effects, the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems — better known as e-cigarettes — among both American adolescents and adults has accelerated and presents public health concerns for tobacco control efforts | News Medical, USA
Evaluation of Buprenorphine Rotation in Patients Receiving Long-term Opioids for Chronic Pain
In this systematic review of 22 studies that addressed prespecified outcomes of rotation to buprenorphine, low-quality evidence suggested that buprenorphine rotation was associated with reduced pain without precipitating opioid withdrawal or other serious adverse effects | JAMA Network Open, USA
Comparison of Treatment Retention of Adults With Opioid Addiction Managed With Extended-Release Buprenorphine vs Daily Sublingual Buprenorphine-Naloxone at Time of Release From Jail
In this pilot proof-of-concept comparative effectiveness study of 52 incarcerated adults with opioid use disorders, extended-release buprenorphine was acceptable to most participants, making it a feasible option in the setting of a large jail opioid treatment program; community buprenorphine treatment retention at 8 weeks postrelease was relatively high compared with sublingual buprenorphine | JAMA Network Open, USA
Risk of opioid overdose appears higher in older Americans
Even with COVID-19 dominating the news, the epidemic of opioid use remains a nationwide threat. While public awareness and efforts to stop addiction and overdoses have intensified, some communities reported higher rates of opioid-related deaths in 2020 than ever before | Medical Xpress, USA
International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day is September 9
First recognized in 1999, International FASD Awareness Day helps raise awareness about the range of conditions that can result from alcohol use during pregnancy | NIAAA, USA
Strychnine and Vomit: The Untold Story of Past US Addiction Treatments
Kenneth Anderson is perhaps best known in the harm reduction movement as the founder and executive director of HAMS (Harm Reduction, Abstinence and Moderation Support)—a nonprofit support group with over 9,000 worldwide members who wish to take a harm reduction approach to their alcohol use | Filter Magazine, USA
Biden Looks to Make Harsh Criminalization of Fentanyl Analogues Permanent
President Joe Biden is seeking to extend indefinitely a Trump-era rule on the scheduling of fentanyl analogues that facilitates harsh criminalization, despite harm reduction advocates’ demands that he reverse course | Filter Magazine, USA
International FASD Awareness Day
9:09am on the 9th day of the 9th month is observed every year in recognition of the importance of being alcohol free for the nine months of a pregnancy | Nofasd, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Synthetic nicotine has arrived
The introduction of a new product line of the popular disposable electronic cigarette brand Puffbar, advertised as containing synthetic nicotine, has drawn attention to the increasing use of synthetic nicotine in marketed products and its uncertain regulatory status | BMJ Tobacco Control editorial, USA
Double-Edged Leaf: Cannabis and Climate Change
Plants have long held sway over the future of human societies. They are our symbiotic partners on the planet, absorbing the carbon dioxide we breathe out and emitting the oxygen we breathe in | Points blog, USA