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Daily news - 16th December 2022 |
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UK news
Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending June 2022. An overview of the extent and trends of illicit drug use. Data are from the Crime Survey for England and Wales
Approximately 1 in 11 adults aged 16 to 59 years (9.2%; approximately 3 million adults) and approximately 1 in 5 adults aged 16 to 24 years (18.6%; approximately 1.1 million adults) reported last year drug use in the year ending June 2022; there was no change compared with the year ending March 2020 | ONS, UK
Health Survey for England, 2021 part 1
The Health Survey for England is used to estimate the proportion of people in England who have health conditions, and the prevalence of risk factors and behaviours associated with certain health conditions. Part 1 features Smoking, E-cigarettes and Alcohol. 79% of participants reported that they had drunk alcohol in the last 12 months, and 49% reported that they drank alcohol at least once a week. A higher proportion of men than women drank alcohol | NHS Digital, UK
Closure of the Middlesbrough Diamorphine-Assisted Treatment programme - EDM (Early Day Motion)705: tabled on 14 December 2022
This motion has been signed by 8 Members. It has not yet had any amendments submitted. Motion: That this House is dismayed that the pioneering Middlesbrough Diamorphine-Assisted Treatment programme has closed due to the withdrawal of funding; applauds the exemplary efforts of Danny Ahmed and his colleagues at the addiction treatment clinic in helping to save and rebuild lives; recognises the success of this scheme in providing invaluable health benefits to participants and reducing offending and criminal justice costs... | UK Parliament, UK
Alcohol-specific deaths - EDM (Early Day Motion)707: tabled on 14 December 2022
This motion has been signed by 3 Members. It has not yet had any amendments submitted. Motion text: That this House is seriously concerned by the sharp increase in alcohol-specific deaths in data released by the Office for National Statistics on 8 December 2022, revealing that in 2021 there were 9,641 deaths,14.8 per 100,000 people, from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK, the highest number on record, representing a 7.4 per cent increase since the previous year and a 27.4 per cent increase since 2019, the last pre-coronavirus pandemic year... | UK Parliament, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to review the proposed new alcohol duty bands, and (2) to increase the top band, so that the reforms will increase the yield to the Exchequer rather than reduce it, as presently forecast | They work for you, UK
Creating lasting improvement: Our annual report and statutory accounts 2021/22 (PDF)
With You releases their latest annual report. Find out how they delivered their services, what they spent and how much impact their work has had | With You, UK
Gary Seaman Award Winner 2022 - Craig Knowles, Hettys (announced by Susanna Reid) - video
The Gary Seaman Award was set up in memory of Gary who died in 2013 having devoted many years of his life supporting and fighting for families affected by substance use in the London Borough of Lewisham. Each year this award celebrates the work and contributions of an outstanding family support practitioner providing this vital and much needed support | Adfam, UK
Parents want drugs to be legalised after their son died from taking pill
The parents of a man who died taking drugs six years ago have again called for legalisation following the death of a teenager at a nightclub | Metro, UK
General Lord Ramsbotham obituary
[Subscription required] Adjutant-general of the army known as ‘the Ram’ who later became an uncompromising and outspoken chief inspector of prisons | Times, UK
Bogus e-cigarettes worth £800k seized in Salford raid
Counterfeit e-cigarette products worth £800,000 have been seized in a raid on a warehouse in Salford. The devices breached safety regulations and could be dangerous, enforcement officers said | BBC, UK
Eight charged over Huddersfield cannabis plants find
Thousands of cannabis plants were found at a commercial building in Nile Street on Tuesday following a large police operation in the town | BBC, UK
International news
How Antwerp became the cocaine gateway to Europe - video
The port of Antwerp in Belgium is largely seen as the capital of cocaine trafficking in Europe. Corruption and violence are now on the rise and the drug is widely available on the street. Europe correspondent Nick Beake visited the city to find out how the problem has developed | BBC, UK
Supervised injecting centre in Dublin should be opened ‘as soon as possible’
A medically supervised injecting centre in Dublin should be opened “as soon as possible”, according to a new report on the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use | Journal, Ireland
Man avoids jail for supplying drugs which killed girlfriend in 'textbook definition' of tragedy
Judge Codd said if any case could highlight the impact and danger of drug use, it was this case | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Nicotine vaping now one of the top forms of substance use among teens
Nicotine vaping is one of the most common types of substance use for teenagers in 2022, according to results from a national study released today. Among 8th grade students, 7% vaped nicotine in the past 30 days in 2022, compared to 6% who used alcohol and 5% who used cannabis. Among 10th graders, 14% vaped nicotine in the past 30 days, compared to 13.6% and 12% for alcohol and cannabis use, respectively | University of Michigan, USA
National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2022: Secondary School Students (PDF)
This study has surveyed nationally representative samples of adolescents in 8th and 10th grade since 1991 and 12th graders since 1975. It is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and assesses adolescent use of dozens of substances | University of Michigan, USA
Explosion in US adolescent overdoses, mainly fentanyl
Drug overdoses among people aged 10 to 18 more than doubled in the United States between 2019 and 2021, according to a study released Thursday by health authorities, who warned in particular of the risks of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl | Medical Xpress, USA
Measuring reduced alcohol consumption, not just abstinence, effective for evaluating medication treatment for drinking
An analysis of combined pharmacotherapy for reducing drinking and smoking has validated findings that measuring reductions in the amount of drinking, not just abstinence, was an effective outcome for alcohol medication trials. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees U.S. clinical trials, accepts total abstinence and percentage of days with no drinking as criteria for success in clinical trials of medication to treat alcohol use disorder | Medical Xpress, USA
In rural America, deadly costs of opioids outweigh the dollars tagged to address them
Tim Buck knows by heart how many people died from drug overdoses in his North Carolina county last year: 10. The year before it was 12—an all-time high | Medical Xpress, USA
The Implications of Police Raids on Shops Selling Psilocybin Mushrooms
An unlicensed psilocybin mushroom shop in Portland, Oregon, was raided by local police on December 8. Operating for just six weeks, it had attracted long lines and attention—positive and negative—from local media and elected officials. The raid starkly illustrates the limits of current policies—even in a state that made history by decriminalizing drug possession and legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use | Filter Magazine, USA
Evaluation of Psychoactive Substances that Bring Youth to the Emergency Department
Examines the trends in substance-related visits to the emergency department (ED) among youth and young adults (12 to 24 years old) and the context of their visits. The findings illustrate the substantial contribution of alcohol to ED visits by young people, that polysubstance use is common in this population and that many of these ED cases are potentially life threatening and involve those younger than the legal drinking age. The report also discusses the importance of ensuring youth have social, mental health and substance use supports following such ED visits | CCSA, Canada
AMA calls for greater regulation on vaping products
AMA members are concerned about the harmful effects of vaping, which include seizures, nicotine poisoning and brain development issues | AMA, Australia
Calls for zero-alcohol products to be subjected to same regulations as alcohol
Alcohol addiction support group founder Shanna Whan wants manufacturers of zero-alcohol beverages to be clear about the potential risks associated with the drinks as the festive season shifts into high gear | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Latest Drug Misuse Trends (2022)
Yesterday (15 December 2022), the Office for National Statistics published its latest overview of the extend and trends of illicit drug use, drawing on data from the latest edition of the Crime Survey for England and Wales and covering the year ending June 2022 | Russell Webster blog, UK
The Holidays are here – and so is our 2022 Taking Responsibility Regulation Report!
Our 2022 Regulation Report is available to view here. It has been a significant year with the sector uniting to extend and launch updated Alcohol Labelling Guidelines; amendments to two pieces of guidance made to strengthen the industry’s actions to avoid drink driving; and the launch of new training and more precent setting decisions | Portman Group blog, UK
“We’re coming in with love, with compassion, with kindness”: The importance of peer-led advocacy in South Africa
Around the world, drug prohibitionist and its consequent stigma limit the autonomy and protections for people who use drugs. The World Drug Report 2022 estimates that there are 11.2 million people across the world injecting drugs, often unable to access clean injecting equipment. The lack of drug regulation means governments are responsible for exacerbating drug-related harms, and chronically under-fund harm reduction interventions | Talking Drugs, UK
Mosaics of Support for Psychedelic Risk Reduction
Timothy Leary used the phrase “set and setting” to describe the way that one’s mindset and physical setting impacts their psychedelic experience. In a recent talk titled “Beyond Set and Setting: Cultivating Mosaics of Support,” Kwasi Adusei, DNP, PMHNP-BC, clarified that set and setting refer to the extra-pharmacological influences on psychedelic experiences, including the “color palette of set” (i.e. internal elements like mood, beliefs, and attitudes) and the “crucible of setting” (i.e external elements like music, space, and people) | Points blog, USA