DrugWise Daily |
22nd September 2026 |
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UK news
More than 3,000 fewer young people in Wales reporting regular vaping, data shows
New data from the Schools Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Well-being Survey shows a significant fall in vaping among children and young people in Wales compared with 2023. The survey is completed every two years by more than 130,000 learners in years 7 to 11 in mainstream secondary schools across Wales | Public Health Wales, UK
ACMD autumn 2026 work program update
Letter to the Minister for Policing and Crime from the Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) providing a work program update | ACMD, UK
A tale of two trap houses: being cuckooed ruined my friend’s life – but did it then help save him?
Duncan is a good friend of mine. He looks like a Dickensian rock’n’roller: tall and skinny, long hair, retro clothes...We met in secondary school in west London in the early 1980s. We got drunk, smoked Rothmans and banana skin spliffs and played Dungeons & Dragons | Guardian, UK
Adults with severe mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier from diseases such as cancer
Exclusive: Stark health inequalities in terms of deaths before age of 75, NHS data reveals | Guardian, UK
Alcohol use and support receipt among people experiencing homelessness in England: a cross-sectional analysis with comparison to private household populations
[Open access] Compared to those more adequately housed, in England people sleeping rough were most likely to be experiencing alcohol use disorder but least likely to be receiving support. Same research team have also reported the views on that support of 32 of London's homeless current/former problem drinkers | BMJ Public Health, UK
Locala Sexual Health and WithYou launch new community support pilot in Golborne
Locala Health & Wellbeing’s Sexual Health Service and WithYou in Wigan and Leigh have joined forces to trial a new way of making free, confidential support easier to access in Golborne | WithYou, UK
York festival holds UK's first NoLo beer judging event
History was made at the York CAMRA beer festival this week, with a UK-first in judging no or low alcohol (NoLo) beers in a competition to find the best brews | York Press, UK
What is alcohol policy for? With Dr Katherine Severi - podcast
In this episode, I talk to Dr Katherine Severi, Chief Executive of the Institute for Alcohol Studies (IAS), about the importance of alcohol policy. We discuss the evidence, barriers, and debates around alcohol policy and why England is still yet to introduce measures such as minimum unit pricing. We also discuss the recent IAS report on parliamentary alcohol use | Alcohol Problem Podcast, UK
Teenager warns online alcohol delivery is 'too easy' - audio
Anissa's cousin Tom died in March 2025, at just 33-years-old | BBC Sounds, UK
Couriers sentenced over £13.8 million cannabis importation attempt
The National Crime Agency investigated the group, who were arrested by Border Force officers in August 2024 when the class B drugs were found packed into 22 suitcases | NCA, UK
International news
US strikes on alleged drug boats may constitute ‘crimes against humanity’, UN finds
Dozens of US attacks on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean have killed more than 230 people since September 2025 | Guardian, UK
As tobacconist firebombings intensify in Melbourne, nearby stores are being denied insurance
Arson attacks related to illegal tobacco trade are also causing revenue and reputation problems for neighbouring businesses | Guardian, UK
Why the gains from the smoking ban are beginning to stall
The ban redefined the norms around smoking, and the next step for Ireland is an opportunity to define the next chapter of global tobacco control | RTe, Ireland
Alcohol at 12, drugs by 14: Irish woman, 23, shares her story of recovery from addiction
As the Substance Use Regional Forum marks Recovery Month, Emma Lynch has been speaking about her recovery from alcohol and drugs | Irish Examiner, Ireland
EUDA webinar: Cannabis and mental health
23 Sep 2026. This webinar will provide an overview of mental health risks associated with cannabis use. Participants will hear about the findings on how cannabis use is linked to anxiety, depression, psychotic symptoms and cannabis use disorder, and how cannabis type, potency, and use patterns might increase the risks. The session will cover recent evidence from European and international research, supporting a better understanding of cannabis-related mental health harms and implications for prevention and care | EUDA, Portugal
EUDA webinar: European drug situation through institutional and civil society perspectives
30 Sep 2026. This webinar is organised in the context of EUDA's ongoing engagement with civil society organisations and the launch of the EUDA civil society platform on drugs. It will begin with a presentation by the EUDA Chief Scientist on the latest European drug situation, followed by a moderated discussion with invited civil society representatives. The session will conclude with an open exchange and Q&A with participating CSOs | EUDA, Portugal
Impact of Comorbid Psychological Distress on Stimulant Use Disorder Treatment Outcomes
[Open access] Intriguing findings from four US trials of additional psychosocial programmes versus just 'treatment as usual' for stimulant use. Men reporting serious psychological distress such as depression or anxiety did less well than other men, not the case for women. Psychologically distressed women also reduced stimulant use more if they had been allocated to the psychosocial programmes, not the case for men | Substance Use & Addiction Journal, USA
Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to subtle brain and behavioral differences in children
Researchers mapped brain networks in more than 10,000 children to examine whether prenatal cannabis exposure leaves a detectable signature across cognition, behavior and mental health | News Medical, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
It’s Time for Harm Reduction to Focus on New Initiates to Injecting Drug Use
The period right after someone starts injecting drugs is especially risky. People are still learning how to inject, how to make their injections safer, and how to get in touch with harm reduction providers. Because of this relative lack of experience, people are much more likely to share injecting equipment, acquire HIV and viral hepatitis, and experience opioid overdose in the one-two years following initiation | Talking Drugs, UK
Can the Contract Between Addiction Scientists and Policymakers Be Restored to What It Was in Griffith Edwards' Time?
Griffith edwards was unusually successful at translating clinical and research evidence on addiction into the public policy sphere, as his memoir reveals (Edwards, 2026). He was able to accomplish this in part because of his intellectual and diplomatic skills, which all of us who knew him could attest were very formidable indeed. But he was also aided by a broader implicit contract that existed between the worlds of politics and scholarship and governed how denizens of each should interact. That contract has, alas, been shredded since my friend passed away | JSAD, USA