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In date order, Monday to Friday
Councillor who lost mum to alcoholism calls for more sober nightlife
A councillor who lost her mother to alcoholism has said Liverpool needs to embrace more sober nightlife - and championed a plan by the city to do more to tackle binge drinking culture | BBC, UK
Why people who have never smoked are getting hooked on vapes
When vaping first took off at Gracey Mungulu's school, she was vocal about the fact she found it as repulsive as smoking."I literally used to tell people like, 'Er, why are you doing that?'" she says. But Gracey says the habit became so common among her classmates that by the age of 16 she too had taken it up, even though the first time left her coughing rather than inhaling | BBC, UK
Woman 'saving £13k a year' after stopping smoking
New data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows the number of smokers in south-west England has dropped to the lowest ever recorded level | BBC, UK
Dangerous habit: The criminal networks flooding the UK with fake cigarettes - audio
File on 4 Investigates reveals the global criminal networks flooding the UK with fake cigarettes. We trace the supply chain smuggling the counterfeits across borders and lay bare the human cost as vulnerable people are moved across continents and made to work and live in clandestine factories here in the UK | BBC Sounds, UK
A wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisis
The few grains of fentanyl sit in the silver foil as a straw, held between Mike's lips, hovers above, with a cigarette lighter below. The 48-year-old army veteran is crouched low in an alleyway in Columbus, Ohio's Linden neighbourhood. "This drug will damn near make you do anything, unfortunately," he says | BBC, UK
'I started ketamine at 14 and needed nappies at 22' - the rise of young people going to rehab
The drugs charity Kaleidoscope says it has seen a huge rise in referrals to its detox and rehabilitation facility over the last five years, with two people referred in 2021 compared to 112 so far this year. The majority of clients are aged 18 to 24 | BBC, UK
Selecting for potency: are drug controls shaping the evolution of illicit drug markets?
[Open access] Since the late 2000s, illicit drug markets have been characterised by a seemingly endless succession of highly potent novel psychoactive substances (NPS) (Shafi et al., 2020). This phenomenon is commonly attributed to illicit innovation outpacing drug control systems (Seddon, 2014). Yet the possibility that drug controls may unintentionally promote the emergence of more potent substances – the so-called "potency paradox" – has been recognised for decades (Thornton, 1998). Here, we examine recent UK developments as a contemporary illustration of this longstanding hypothesis | IJDP, UK
Do you work or volunteer in a UK community drug and alcohol treatment, recovery or harm reduction service?
Liverpool John Moores University researchers want to understand how you think the general public, and professionals in other health and social care services, view people who do this work, and how this relates to workplace wellbeing. All roles are welcome, including peer, outreach, admin and management. The confidential online survey takes 15 minutes. Optional prize draw for one of six £30 vouchers | LJMU, UK
The mafia isn’t keeping fentanyl out of Europe – the lack of demand is
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are still the single biggest driver of overdose deaths in the US. They were involved in around 38,000 of the roughly 70,000 deaths recorded in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe’s figures are of a different order | Conversation, UK et al
Guidance - Children and young people's alcohol and drug services: framework
This national framework sets out clear expectations for how local areas should design, commission and provide high-quality alcohol and drug support for children and young people. It covers interventions for: 1)children aged 17 and under, delivered by children and young people’s specialist drug and alcohol treatment services. 2) young people aged 18 to 24, as part of transitional arrangements in children and young people’s alcohol and drug services or in adult alcohol and drug treatment services | DHSC, UK
Tobacco giants exaggerate the size of Britain's illegal cigarette market threefold
New report - Beyond the headlines: the reality of illicit tobacco in the UK - reveals stark gulf between tobacco industry claims and official figures, as illegal cigarette consumption falls almost 90% | ASH, UK
Gen Z visiting bars more frequently than national average, study finds
Gen Z consumers are visiting bars more frequently than the national average, despite changing social habits and rising expectations around the on-trade experience, new research from Heineken has found | Morning Advertiser, UK
TikTok failing to remove nearly all accounts reported for advertising drugs, study finds
The platform decided more than 95 per cent of accounts reported by researchers for purporting to sell drugs did not violate its policies | Independent, UK
Campaign targets 'laughing gas' sales as people urged to report illegal nitrous oxide sellers
A new Crimestoppers campaign is raising awareness of the risks of nitrous oxide and is asking the public to tell the charity who is selling canisters illegally | Chronicle Live, UK
Metal detecting 'saved me', says former addict
Karl Monks, 40, from Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, believes metal detecting is the "best hobby in the world" for ex-addicts who want to turn their lives around | BBC, UK
Policy tracker - Illegal drugs
The government has largely maintained a criminal justice approach to illegal drugs, despite evidence that current policies have not been effective in reducing the supply of, or demand for, drugs. While there have been some indications of interest in a broader public health approach, these have not yet been reflected in policy | Health Foundation, UK
Policy tracker - Alcohol
England lacks a coherent national alcohol strategy, and Labour’s manifesto included limited commitments on alcohol-related harm. Alcohol has not been prioritised to the same extent as other risk factors to health | Health Foundation, UK
Policy tracker - Tobacco and vaping
The government has a strong legislative and fiscal approach to tobacco and vaping and a clear end goal of a smokefree generation. Smoking policy has strong cross-party support, a robust evidence base and strong positioning within a wider prevention agenda. There is still a need for a wider strategy, however. The eradication of smoking should not be considered ‘done’ | Health Foundation, UK
Cannabis legalisation and cardiovascular hospitalisations in the United States: nationwide difference-in-differences analysis, 2012–2018
[Open access] Legalisation was associated with increased hospitalisations for atrial fibrillation/flutter, heart failure and myocardial infarction. Global legalisation trends may result in epidemiologically and economically important increases in cardiovascular healthcare use | BMJ Open, UK
Drug production in Afghanistan and the region: new EUDA report highlights value of innovative monitoring and early warning to better inform drug policy
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) has today published a report, Drug production in Afghanistan and the region: innovative monitoring to better inform policy, examining how drug production systems in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries are adapting to political change, enforcement pressure and market demand | EUDA, Portugal