Daily news - 3rd December 2021 |
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UK news
ASH at 50: Nearly 8 million lives in the UK lost due to tobacco since 1971
A new analysis to mark the 50th anniversary of ASH finds that smoking killed nearly 8 million people in the UK over the last 50 years with an estimated 2 million more expected to die in the next 20 years without radical changes to smoking rates | ASH, UK
Commemorating the 8 million people killed by smoking since 1971
ASH was set up in 1971 to end the harm from smoking. Smoking rates have fallen dramatically since then but smoking has still claimed nearly 8 million lives. This page is a tribute to those we have lost | ASH, UK
Research report: "A system designed for women?"
This report explores the type of support available to women who use drugs, their experiences of treatment and ultimately, how services can be improved to support these women | With You, UK
The science of recovery capital: where do we go from here?
[Open access] The concept of recovery capital (RC) has emerged in studies and discussions of the addiction recovery process and as a potential metric and marker for recovery gains | Addiction, UK
The drug consumption van providing a safe space for drug-users
A drugs consumption van designed to provide a safe space for drug users to inject substances visited Bristol as part of an awareness campaign | ITV, UK
Naloxone PSNI pilot scheme saves three lives in early months
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has issued some patrol officers with medicine that reverses certain types of drugs overdose | BBC, UK
Forward Trust Social Impact Report
In Part 1 of this report, we present a summary of the reach achieved by each of our services during 2020/21 and some key achievements delivered in the face of the challenges presented by lockdown. Part 2 of the report looks forward, in particular to the expansion of our services through the exciting merger with Action on Addiction and the delivery of new probation services | Forward Trust, UK
Our Annual Report 2020-2021
We hope that you will enjoy reading about our work, and we would like to encourage you to get involved in any way that you think you can | FAVOR, UK
Alcohol Alert - November 2021
Report highlights alcohol marketing harm to children; sobriety tags rolled out for offenders; politicians and NGOs call for increase to MUP in Scotland | IAS, UK
Current List - December 2021
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract | Addiction, UK
Roundtable on Alcohol and Mental Health
Wed, 15 December 2021, 09:30 – 11:30 GMT. A roundtable event to facilitate discussion on current practice and develop recommendations based upon different perspectives and experience | Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, UK
AHA Seminar Sessions: Minimum unit pricing evidence from Scotland and Wales
Fri, 14 January 2022, 14:00 – 15:00 GMT. Professor Eileen Kaner, Newcastle University, will share with us the findings of the Impact of minimum unit pricing on alcohol purchases in Scotland and Wales study, as published in The Lancet | AHA, UK
International news
Associations of common mental disorder with alcohol use in the adult general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Research has shown that alcohol use and common mental disorders (CMDs) co-occur; however, little is known about how the global prevalence of alcohol use compares across different CMDs. We aimed to (i) report global associations of alcohol use (alcohol use disorder (AUD), binge drinking and consumption) comparing those with and without a CMD, (ii) examine how this differed among those with and without specific types of CMDs and (iii) examine how results may differ by study characteristics | Addiction, UK
QMJC November 2021: Self-detoxification, embodiment and masculinity: a qualitative analysis of dependent heroin users’ experiences of coming off drugs in prison
Selected for the first Qualitative Methods Journal Club hosted by Simon Fraser University, an article which explores men’s experiences of ‘coming off drugs’ and going through self-detoxification in prison | SSA, UK
‘Risky levels’: Australia is the drunkest country in the world, new survey finds
While French drank most times a week, Australians got drunk an average of 27 times a year, almost double the global average | Guardian, UK
Groups call for halt on proposal to 'get community sector out' of drugs task force
An umbrella group for community drug organisations has said Department of Health plans will remove their representation on a powerful steering group responsible for implementing the National Drugs Strategy (NDS) | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Substance Use Disorders and COVID-19 Vaccine Response
Among individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19, those with substance use disorders (SUD) may have a higher risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, according to a recent study led by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Case Western Reserve University | JAMA Network, USA
Combining medication and adjunct services for opioid use disorder: Identifying cost-saving combinations that reduce risk of overdose and death
Given limited treatment resources and unmet treatment needs for opioid use disorder, it is essential to identify exactly which treatments are worth the investment. This study evaluated the effects of medication and add-on services on overdose and death, as well as their cost-effectiveness | Recovery Research Review, USA
A Rural Michigan County Is Getting Its First Syringe Program
Arural Michigan county is getting its first syringe service program (SSP). It comes at a time when the state is reporting increasing diagnoses of HIV from injection drug use. SSPs give sterile syringes to people who inject drugs like heroin, to prevent disease transmission through sharing needles | Filter Magazine, USA
Overdose prevention sites in B.C. provide a wide range of health benefits, new study suggests
A new study suggests that the presence of more overdose prevention sites (OPS) in B.C. has been associated with a wide range of health benefits | CTV news, Canada
No clear answer to whether prescribed opioid use in children leads to later drug misuse
Pediatric researchers are calling for more rigorous research into the possible link between short-term opioid use for pain management in childhood and opioid use disorder later in life | Medical Xpress, Canada
Study: THC in blood and saliva are poor measures of cannabis impairment
Researchers at the University of Sydney's Lambert Initiative have analyzed all available studies on the relationship between driving performance and concentrations in blood and saliva of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating component of cannabis | Medical Xpress, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
If not now, when?
A new drugs strategy offers the chance for the Government to right the wrongs of disinvestment by funding Dame Carol Black’s rigorous, costed policy programme. The necessary resource must be provided to bring a new generation of people in need into recovery, save thousands of lives, reduce crime and make major savings for the public purse. The time to act is upon us. If not now, when? | Collective Voice blog, UK
Too many women with drug issues are falling through the gaps
I’ve seen first hand the challenges women face navigating a system that is often not designed for them | With You, UK
How can we use legal powers to safeguard vulnerable, dependent drinkers?
In 2017, the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board published what is known as the Carol safeguarding adults review (SAR). This looked at lessons that could be learned from the tragic murder of a vulnerable, dependent drinker. It highlighted the need for improvements related to a number of aspects of her care, including issues about the use of mental capacity legislation and the use of safeguarding frameworks under the Care Act | IAS blog, UK
Alcohol marketing and me: stories from those in recovery
In this blog, Peter and Nikki share their stories of recovery and shine a light upon how alcohol marketing can make the journey more difficult | AHA blog, UK
Stop and search: new data shows continued ethnic disproportionality
Each year the Home Office publishes data on stop and search from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. The latest figures for the year ending March 2021 reveal a familiar pattern: stop and search disproportionately affects black people and targets drugs, not serious violence | Conversation, UK