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Daily news - 20th September 2022

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UK news

Limits on paracetamol purchases could reduce injury and death from overdoses, expert panel says

TGA report recommends reduced packet sizes and restricting over-the-counter sales of the drug to people 18 and over | Guardian, UK

Research reveals potentially life-changing impact of internet forums on those in remission from opioid use disorder

Active participation in internet forums has the potential to provide life-changing social benefits and wellbeing for people who are in remission from opioid use disorder according to a new study from the University of Exeter | EurekAlert, UK

Sunderland increases variety of council drug and alcohol services

Councillors have raised fears about rising numbers of people seeking help for alcohol and drug addictions on Wearside in the cost of living crisis. Sunderland City Council's cabinet heard plans to change the contract of its drug and alcohol service to increase the number of people it can serve | BBC, UK

Just add water – or Coke Zero: why it’s OK to dilute strong red wine

With alcohol levels often hitting more than 14%, some red wine is a headache for fans of lighter varieties | Guardian, UK

Dr Thomas Bewley, psychiatrist who influenced British drug policy from the 1960s onwards – obituary

[Possible paywall] Bewley, from a big Dublin Quaker family, tried to bring order to the famously humane and non-punitive ‘British System’ of addiction medicine | Telegraph, UK

Its game on for the Recovery Games

Sat, 24th September 2022. After a two-year absence due to the pandemic the Recovery Games is back and taking place at Hatfield Activity Centre in Doncaster, DN7 6EQ on 24 September 2022. The all-day event is a key attraction in the recovery calendar bringing together people from all walks of life from across the UK to celebrate the achievements of people in recovery from a drug and alcohol dependency | Aspire, UK

Merseyside police hit 600 arrests to crackdown on organised crime

Merseyside Police have carried out a series of drugs raids as they hit 600 arrests in a major crackdown on organised crime. Data released by police says they have carried out over 1,700 stop searches, more than 125 land searches and seized more than 140 vehicles | ITV, UK

International news

Don’t miss out on the heated tobacco opportunity

Booming global sales and recent success in the UK mean the heated tobacco category is capturing consumers’ imagination – and Greater London retailers should be capitalising on the growing popularity, says JTI | The Grocer, UK

Understanding the Association between Alcohol Stigma and Alcohol Consumption within Europe: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study

Stigma towards alcohol-related conditions is more pronounced than stigma against any other mental illness and has remained high throughout past decades. Although alcohol consumption is a known and persistent contributor to the burden of disease and interpersonal threat and may thus shape public attitudes towards consumption, no study to date has provided an overview of the prevalence of alcohol stigma and its association with (a) alcohol consumption and (b) harm attributable to alcohol across Europe | European Addiction Research, UK

Tobacco Harm Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa

By global comparisons, smoking prevalence is relatively low across the continent of Africa. Yet by 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) projects the total number of tobacco users in Africa will increase to 62m, of whom 51m will be smoking combustible tobacco... Appropriate, accessible and affordable safer nicotine products (SNP), supported by product regulation, could help create a smoke-free Africa and, unlike most tobacco control interventions, this can be achieved at minimal cost to governments | GSTHR, UK

Saudi Arabia ‘to serve alcohol’ at beach resort in first for kingdom

[Possible paywall] The relaxed drinking rules would apply only to Neom the £400 billion megacity Neom | Telegraph, UK

Experts say new street drug is 'as deadly as fentanyl'

According to the latest national data, U.S. drug overdoses hit a record high in 2021—more than 108,000 lives lost. Three-quarters of those deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl or nitazenes. The Tennessee study was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Medical Xpress, USA

Changes in Emergency Department Visits for Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome Following Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Subsequent Commercialization in Ontario, Canada

Have emergency department (ED) visits for cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) changed after cannabis legalization and the subsequent commercialization (ie, store and product expansion) of the cannabis retail market in Ontario, Canada? | JAMA Network Open, USA

Heart medication shows potential as treatment for alcohol use disorder

A medication for heart problems and high blood pressure may also be effective for treating alcohol use disorder, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues | Medical Xpress, USA

HBO Max removes cigars and cigarettes from some, but not all, movie posters in its catalog

Twitter sleuths have uncovered that HBO Max removed cigars and cigarettes from some of the posters displayed for old movies in the service’s catalog | Washington Times, USA

Biden Clearing Out The Menthol Cigarette Smoke With New Ban

President Biden’s administration is clearing out the smoke when it comes to the sale of menthol flavored cigarettes. This nicotine product accounts for more than one-third of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. each year. Menthol cigarettes have been historically heavily marketed toward Black Americans, and the FDA specifically noted that the move to ban them would save the lives of 92,000 to 238,000 African Americans | Forbes, USA

Advocates Condemn California’s New Forced-Treatment Law

On September 14, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act into law. The legislation will create a civil court system in every county designed to force people experiencing substance use disorder and other mental health issues into mandatory treatment plans | Filter Magazine, USA

Measuring the Impact of Drug-Impaired Driving: Recommendations for National Indicators

Recommends 34 indicators for enhancing and standardizing the collection of drug-impaired driving data across Canada to help reduce injuries and fatalities. The report also explores considerations for implementing the recommendations, including the need for systematic and standardized methods, developing a joint approach, increasing knowledge and efficiencies through data sharing, filling the gaps, and increasing diversity, as well as the financial costs and benefits of investment to implement the recommendations | CCSA, Canada

OxyContin was delisted from Canadian provincial drug formularies in March 2012 and replaced with a reformulated tamper-resistant form of oxycodone (i.e., OxyNeo). We assessed if delisting of OxyContin was associated with changes in the use of unregulated opioids and other substances among people who use opioids | IJDP, Canada

Sydney may be the cocaine capital, but Melbourne is the home of heroin

The average Sydneysider used almost twice as much cocaine as the average person in Melbourne, while the reverse is true for heroin, data from wastewater testing shows | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Director Paul North’s trip to Scotland to debate cannabis legalisation – “why we should support recreational cannabis”

Volteface Director Paul North (@paul_north) was invited to speak at the St. Andrews debating society on the legal regulation of cannabis in the UK. Speaking in favour of the motion, Paul was joined by Anna Ross, and debated against a House team accompanied by Dr. Lorna Nisbet | Volteface, UK

Reconsidering Cannabis and the Law - podcast

Will Self presents a very British solution to the issues surrounding the legalisation of marijuana | BBC, UK

Sentences to Ponder

I think the future rests in seeing harm reduction and recovery as strategies to be uniquely combined and sequenced across the stages/styles of drug use / drug addiction and the stages of recovery rather than as warring ideologies | Recovery Review blog, USA

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