Daily news - 9th December 2021

UK news

Drug and alcohol services - improving holistic family support

This paper seeks to provide a framework, in line with the national drug/alcohol strategy Rights, Respect and Recovery (RRR) and linked policy initiatives for the development of a consistent approach for families affected by substance use | Scottish Government, UK

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they intend to provide (1) to the NHS, and (2) to other areas of society, to tackle the effects of alcohol consumption | They work for you, UK

Drugs Crackdown Will Deter Young People Seeking Help, Students Warn

Priti Patel singled out students as part of the clampdown, saying their actions were “directly leading” to an increase in violent crime and people dying | Huffington Post, UK

Here’s What You Really Need To Know About the UK’s Massive Drug Reform Plan

The UK government is trying to rebuild a drug treatment system it trashed – and setting up a false narrative to demonise drug users | VICE, UK

52. Drug Laws with Niamh Eastwood - podcast

Are drug laws just a political tool? Should we embrace the fact that drugs bring pleasure? In this week’s episode, we speak to Niamh Eastwood – CEO of the legal charity ‘Release‘ about the UK’s drug laws | Drug Science, UK

Northern Ireland records new high for alcohol-related deaths

Northern Ireland has recorded its highest number of deaths due to alcohol in 20 years of official statistics | BBC, UK

Webinar: Lived experience and the substance misuse treatment system

Mon, 13 December 2021, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT. A panel of experts from across the treatment and recovery world will discuss how we can support lived experience to flourish in the system | Collective Voice, UK

Peer mentoring in the criminal justice system: what the evidence tells us

Tuesday 14 December 2021, 14:00 - 15:00. Dr Gillian Buck will discuss the latest evidence on how peer mentoring can help people to leave crime behind, connect them with services and employment opportunities, and facilitate consciousness raising and collective system-reform efforts | Clinks, UK

Now Open: Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC) is delighted to announce the launch of the Recovery Seed Fund

The aim of this fund is to support new & unconstituted Lived Experience recovery groups/organisations with an initial award of up to £5000 to support with start-up & running costs. Additional support will also be given to develop these groups /organisations to become sustainable, skilled and independent groups/organisations. This is a fantastic opportunity for those wanting to take their group to the next level so they can continue supporting recovery in their community | SRC, UK

Arrests over drug-soaked paper prison plot

Two men arrested during dawn raids are suspected of plotting to supply drug-soaked paper to prison inmates | BBC, UK

International news

The hazardous (mis)perception of Self-estimated Alcohol intoxication and Fitness to drivE—an avoidable health risk: the SAFE randomised trial

Worldwide, alcohol-related road traffic accidents represent a major avoidable health risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of self-estimating the degree of acute alcohol intoxication regarding the legal driving limit, and to identify risk factors for misjudgement | Harm Reduction Journal, UK

Biden faces ‘urgent’ calls for mass pardons for cannabis convictions

Members of Congress push president to pardon all nonviolent federal pot convictions as holidays approach | Independent, UK

New Zealand to ban smoking for next generation in bid to outlaw habit by 2025

Legislation will mean people currently aged 14 and under will never be able to legally purchase tobacco | Guardian, UK

WHO report on digital marketing of alcohol: control policies in the European Region are not enough

Only 14 Member States of the WHO European Region indicated that they have a ban on alcohol marketing on the Internet and social media, states a new WHO publication. The report, “Digital marketing of alcohol: Challenges and policy options for better health in the WHO European Region” describes the developing digital ecosystem that is used to promote alcohol consumption and the associated health risks | WHO, Denmark

Trends in binge drinking among older men and women in the United States

Binge drinking has increased in recent years among older U.S. men but not among older women, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society | Medical Xpress, USA

People Changed the Ways They Use Drugs During the Pandemic

The 2021 Global Drug Survey (GDS), the newly published report from the largest annual survey of people who use drugs, might be the most comprehensive look so far at how drug use has changed during the coronavirus pandemic | Filter Magazine, USA

Trends in Prevalence of Tobacco Use by Sex and Socioeconomic Status in 22 Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2003-2019

Secondary data analyses of Demographic Health Surveys in 22 sub-Saharan African countries showed that current tobacco use had significantly decreased; the decrease was steeper among female participants and among less-educated individuals and individuals with low income of both sexes | JAMA Network, USA

Professor David Nutt Explains Exactly How Psychedelic Therapy Works

Lying on a comfy bed with eyes closed in a darkened room, surrounded by soft mood lighting and calming music while a trusted person next to you whispers encouraging phrases sounds like the ultimate way to relax. Throw 25mgs of psilocybin into the mix, and it’s a different scenario entirely | The Latch, Australia

Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective

Clinical studies provide fundamental knowledge of substance use behaviors (substance of abuse, patterns of use, relapse rates). The combination of neuroimaging approaches reveal correlation between substance use disorder (SUD) and changes in neural structure, function, and neurotransmission | Frontiers in Global Women's Health, Australia

Smoking ban: Fears Smokefree 2025 legislation could stoke growing black market

Critics say plans to outlaw smoking for future generations will likely fuel an already-growing black market for cigarettes and more support is needed for people to transition to vaping | NZ Herald, New Zealand

Blogs, comment and opinion

Alcohol harm in the Punjabi Sikh community

Alcohol harm affects individuals and communities in different ways. The wide spectrum of harm makes it difficult to find a “one size fits all” approach to addiction treatment and perhaps goes some way to explaining why 92% of all people in treatment for addiction are recorded as White | AHA blog, UK

Who drinks zero and low alcohol beer in Great Britain?

There is an increasing buzz about zero and low alcohol products in the UK. While concerns related to their labelling and marketing have been expressed by the public health advocates, the UK Government committed to working with the drinks industry to “deliver a significant increase in the availability of alcohol-free and low alcohol products by 2025” in its consultation document: ‘Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s’.| IAS blog, UK

Alcohol deaths must be a ‘wake-up call’ for the Government, says BMA

Responding to the data, Professor Dame Parveen Kumar, BMA board of science chair, said: “The shocking statistic that deaths caused by alcohol rose by nearly a fifth in 2020 must be a wake-up call for the Government to prioritise plans that tackle drinking... | BMA, UK

What’s In The 2021 Drug Strategy?

The strategy is 67 pages long so I am going to adopt my usual approach and tackle each section in detail over a number of blog posts. This first post will summarise the key objectives of the plan | Russell Webster, UK

The new government drug strategy: a moment of recovery?

The Forward Trust's Chief Executive Mike Trace welcomes the promise of investment in the addiction treatment sector but explains there is work to do to make sure this reverses the declines of the last 10 years | Forward Trust, UK

Release’s take on the Government’s new Drug Strategy

The strategy rightly recognises that half of people dependent on opiates and crack cocaine are not in treatment, and that drug addiction co-occurs with a range of health inequalities, especially mental health issues, homelessness, and deprivation | Release blog, UK

SSA notes: the 2021 UK drugs strategy

The SSA’s Rob Calder and Natalie Davies summarise the context and the implications for criminal justice, addiction treatment, the workforce, addictions research and partnership working | SSA, UK

Prohibition has failed, so it’s time to legalise drugs

[Limited number of free articles per week] The Government is planning to increase punishment for personal drug use, but the zero-tolerance approach has so far yielded little results | Telegraph, UK

Alcohol deaths up almost 19% during the pandemic – the greatest increase since 2001

Deaths from alcohol in 2020 were up almost 19% compared with the previous year, according to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In total, 8,974 deaths resulting from alcohol misuse were recorded in the UK in 2020. This is the largest single-year increase since the ONS started collecting this data in 2001 | Conversation, UK

The government’s war on drugs turns a blind eye to one of Britain’s deadliest narcotics – alcohol

Alcohol claimed the lives of more people than drugs in 2020, yet the only intervention we’ve witnessed is to ensure uninterrupted supply during the pandemic | Independent voices, UK

E-Cig Summit 2021 Roundup – Part 2

In this post you’ll find quick summaries of the E-Cig Summit, day 2 | Ashtray blog, UK

Smoking vs vaping

Over the years, people have developed various ways of smoking cannabis. Most recently, using a vaporiser or vape has become especially popular among nicotine and cannabis consumers. Vapes come in many different forms and have been used as a safer alternative to smoking or to help quit smoking | Drugs and Me blog, UK

This product kills: lessons from tobacco control to help tackle the climate emergency

Two products that history is unlikely to reflect upon kindly are tobacco and petrol/diesel. The first kills two-thirds of those who consume it regularly and has led to more than 100 million deaths in the past century with many more deaths to occur in future, particularly in lower and middle income countries | BMJ Tobacco Control, UK