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Daily news - 2nd August 2023 |
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UK news
West Mercia Police issue warning over synthetic opioids
Police have issued a warning after two men nearly died when they took synthetic opioids without knowing. The men in Evesham thought they were taking heroin and suffered an adverse reaction, West Mercia Police said | BBC, UK
High-strength alcohol more expensive as new duties come into force
A new system for taxing alcohol has come into force in the UK, increasing the price of many drinks. Alcohol duty, which had been frozen since 2020, increases by 10.1 per cent overall but will fall on lower-alcohol beverages | Holyrood, UK
Rishi Sunak heckled by angry publican over alcohol tax
As the PM pulled a pint to promote his changes to alcohol tax, publican Rudi Keyser shouted: "Prime minister, oh the irony that you're raising alcohol duty on the day that you're pulling a pint." | BBC, UK
E-cigarettes may be better than nicotine patches to help pregnant women stop smoking, reduce the risk of low birthweight
Smoking in pregnancy can harm developing babies, especially their growth. Current guidelines recommend that pregnant smokers who find quitting difficult should be provided with nicotine replacements products, and stop-smoking services usually recommend nicotine patches | Medical Xpress, UK
£19.5m NIHR funding to tackle health and social care issues
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) today awarded King’s £19.5m to tackle important long-standing and emerging health and social care issues. Professor Ann McNeill, Co-Director of the NIHR Policy Research Unit for Addictions said: “We are delighted to have this unique opportunity to help shape effective addictions policy in the coming years by working closely with both subject experts and experts by experience from a UK-wide consortium... | King's College London, UK
Likewise launches to support people in Sheffield with drug and alcohol issues
A new service aiming to support people who have issues with alcohol and other drugs across the city of Sheffield will open its doors on 1 August 2023. Likewise, which has been commissioned by Sheffield City Council, is a partnership between national charity Humankind and Project 6. The service will provide free, confidential, and non-judgemental support to people who need it | Humankind, UK
Addiction unit launches electronic prescription service in national first
A north London NHS addictions unit has launched England’s first electronic prescription service (EPS) for addiction-related medication following a successful local trial | Chemist and Druggist, UK
Northumberland charity for families of addiction sufferers Escape Family Support gets £10k running costs grant
An Ashington charity supporting the families of people who struggle with addiction has received a £10,000 grant to help with escalating running costs | Northumberland Gazette, UK
Rough sleeping up 9% in London in a year
Mr Miller is expecting the London rough sleeping figures to continue rising and has painted a bleak picture going into the winter. He told the BBC: "While for both genders numbers are rising, we see more than ever now that young women, between 18 and 25, are coming through the door who mainly have drug-related problems. "Our experience is that while they are not on the streets because of drugs, they are taken advantage of when in that situation and become reliant on drugs, mainly crack." | BBC, UK
Somerset ex-smoker's lung cancer detected early through health check
An ex-smoker who had a tumour removed from his lung said he is relieved that a health check caught the tumour early | BBC, UK
Met Police: Cdr Julian Bennett was never sober at home, lodger says
A senior Metropolitan Police officer who wrote the force's anti-drugs strategy was "never sober" at home, a tribunal has heard | BBC, UK
International news
Canada launches warning labels on each cigarette
Canada will be the first nation to start printing warnings directly onto individual cigarettes in a bid to deter young people from starting smoking and encourage others to quit | BBC, UK
Kuwait: Five hanged as Kuwait continues execution spree into second year
Responding to the hanging of five people by the Kuwaiti authorities yesterday including one convicted of a drug-related offence, Rawya Rageh, Amnesty International’s Interim Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said... | Amnesty International, UK
National Drug Treatment Reporting System: 2022 alcohol treatment demand (PDF)
In this bulletin, data on treated problem alcohol use for the year 2022 are presented, followed by trends for the seven-year period from 2016 to 2022.1 The data are from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS), the national surveillance system that records and reports on cases of drug and alcohol treatment in Ireland. In 2022, 7,421 cases were treated for problem alcohol use. • The proportion of new cases (never treated for problem alcohol use before) was 44.2%. • The majority of cases were treated in outpatient facilities (60.2%) | HRB, Ireland
Study suggests millions of long-term smokers have lung disease that defies diagnosis
Millions of Americans with tobacco-related lung disease have symptoms that do not fit any existing tobacco-related disease criteria—including the most common of those, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—according to a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco | Medical Xpress, USA
STASH, Vol. 19(8) – Youth access to Lower Risk Substance Use Guidelines
Historically, government organizations in Canada enforced abstinence as a means of addressing substance use, particularly among youth. However, this position fails to empower youth to make better, more educated choices about their substance use. Lower-Risk Substance Use Guidelines (LRSUGs) aim to educate individuals about substance use and provide them with strategies that can help minimize potential harms. This week, STASH reviews a study by Zakkaery Moebes and colleagues that identified LRSUGs accessible to youth | BASIS, USA
“A More Loving, Just Church”: Harm Reduction and Faith Communities
On July 3, the United Church of Christ (UCC) approved the first harm reduction resolution by a mainline Protestant denomination. It encourages congregations to facilitate access to harm reduction resources like syringe service programs | Filter Magazine, USA
Australia leads world with vaping crackdown
Recently announced vaping reforms are to be commended, with Australia finally taking a stand against commercial interests and putting the health of our population ahead of corporate profits. But some industry actors are already spreading misinformation in an attempt to undermine vaping control policies | MJA Insight, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Nine things you need to know about the new alcohol duty system
The alcohol duty system is changing. Here is all you need to know | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK