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Daily news - 18th August 2023 |
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UK news
Media campaign boosts community naloxone supply
An independent evaluation of a mass media campaign on how to prevent drug deaths show it has had a positive impact on public awareness and increased the community supply of life-saving naloxone | Healthcare News Scotland Limited, UK
Met Police officers could carry 'lifesaving' drug overdose treatment as London battles opioid issue
A Met Police spokesperson said: "In relation to naloxone there are trials being completed across England and Wales and there is a full roll out in Scotland. These trials, and where appropriate other evidence, will be subject to further review in the Met over the next 12 to 18 months. This is being overseen by the MPS’ senior advisor for first aid and the MPS clinical panel." | MyLondon, UK
Families 'devastated' by teenagers' SWG3 drug deaths
The families of two teenagers whose deaths are being treated as drug-related say they are "devastated" by the loss. Scott Allison and Marcus Dick, both 18, attended the same DJ set at SWG3 in Glasgow on Saturday | BBC, UK
The ‘It’ll Cost You’ campaign is aimed at tackling underage drinking by educating the adults who purchase alcohol for them
Asking an adult to buy alcohol for under 18s is one of the most common tactics used by youngsters to access alcohol. It’s an offence in Scotland for an adult to buy or attempt to buy alcohol for someone who is under the age of 18 | Daily Record, UK
It Will Cost You
It’s a criminal offence to buy alcohol for someone under 18. You could face a fine of up to £5,000 or up to 3 months in prison. Or both | CAP et al, UK
Leeds Festival: Coroner warns attendees after boy's drug death
Teenagers attending Leeds Festival next week have been urged to beware of drugs following the death of a 16-year-old boy at last year's event | BBC, UK
Concern after 'huge increase' in number of nitrous oxide canisters found in Aylesbury
Concerns have been raised in Aylesbury over the use of so-called laughing gas, after there was a 'huge increase' in the number of nitrous oxide canisters being found in the town | ITV, UK
World Cup final: Pubs call for relaxed alcohol laws on Sunday
Pubs are calling for licensing laws to be relaxed to allow venues to serve alcohol from 10:00 BST ahead of the Women's World Cup final on Sunday | BBC, UK
Meet the bold new generation of makers creating alcohol-free drinks
The trend is being led by ‘Gen Z’, those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. Gen Z are health-conscious, exercise more, and value experiences. Unlike generations before, alcohol plays far less of a role in their social lives with a rise in mindful drinking | Herald, UK
County lines drugs plot foiled after Carlisle rail station arrest
A county lines drugs plot which saw heroin trafficked from Merseyside to Cumbria was smashed when police found one of the dealers concealing heroin | BBC, UK
International news
NSW court ruling will make it almost impossible to contest drug-driving charges, legal experts claim
Judge says decision involving a Sydney man who lost his licence after testing positive for cocaine pivoted on presence of drug rather than his credibility | Guardian, UK
Quarter of submissions from vape users to Australian inquiry parrot text from tobacco industry campaign
Exclusive: study finds 26% of individual responses to TGA vaping reforms contained text from template provided as part of ‘astroturfing’ campaign | Guardian, UK
AMA tells University of Sydney to ‘read the room’ over research funded by gambling industry
Head of Australian Medical Association says university should 'reflect on the credibility’ of industry-funded studies | Guardian, UK
Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking, reach historic highs among adults 35-50 - Press release
Adults aged 35 to 50 continued a long-term upward trajectory in past-year use of marijuana and hallucinogens to reach all-time highs in 2022, according to the Monitoring the Future panel study, an annual survey of substance use behaviors and attitudes of adults 19-to-60 years old | University of Michigan, USA
Monitoring the Future Panel Study Annual Report: National data on substance use among adults ages 19 to 60, 1976-2022 (PDF)
Since 1975, the MTF study has annually surveyed substance use behaviors and attitudes among nationally representative samples of eighth, 10th and 12th graders. The MTF longitudinal panel study conducts follow-up surveys on a subset of the participants after the 12th grade to track their drug use through adulthood. After high school, the participants are followed every other year through age 30, then every five years afterward, with the oldest participants now in their 60s. “In 2022, we are seeing that marijuana and hallucinogen use, and vaping of nicotine and marijuana, are higher than ever among young adults ages 19 to 30,” Patrick said. “In addition, midlife adults ages 35 to 50 have the highest level of binge drinking we have ever seen in that age group.” University of Michigan, USA
CBD vapes rising in popularity among teens
Vaping CBD (cannabidiol) is on the rise among middle and high school students, according to a national U.S. survey, and health experts warn there can be serious risks involved | Medical Xpress, USA
Effect of unguided e-cigarette provision on uptake, use, and smoking cessation among adults who smoke in the USA: a naturalistic, randomised, controlled clinical trial
As summarised in the most recent Cochrane review, the few clinical trials on e-cigarettes are largely focused on smoking cessation. We aimed to determine the naturalistic uptake, use, and impact of e-cigarettes among adults who may or may not want to stop smoking | Lancet, USA
I Went to Rehab for Alcoholism 18 Times. Only Psychedelics Helped
“Using [psilocybin] four to six times has managed to achieve what the other therapies didn’t do in years.” | VICE, USA
Why Indigenous Protesters Stopped a Global Psychedelic Conference
Early this summer, the Psychedelic Science conference brought 12,000 people to Denver, Colorado, to participate in a dizzying array of sessions, as I reported for Filter. But on the final day, June 23, a protest stopped this global event in its tracks, as activists blasted the psychedelic movement over Indigenous representation and rights | Filter Magazine, USA
Europe: Cocaine’s Ever-Expanding Market
European ports are being inundated with huge quantities of cocaine, with recent record seizures suggesting that the arrival of large cocaine shipments to the continent is the new normal | InsightCrime, Colombia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Expert reaction to study looking at access to a smartphone alcohol intervention app and alcohol consumption in university students
A study published in the BMJ looks at the effect of smartphone intervention for university students with unhealthy alcohol use. Dr Sadie Boniface, Head of Research, Institute of Alcohol Studies; and Visiting Researcher, King’s College London and Prof Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine give their reactions | Science Media Centre, UK
Digital tools and apps to reduce alcohol use
Europe has the highest levels of alcohol use in the world and a wide variety of evidence based policies and interventions are already available to reduce harm from alcohol. Prevention of ill health has the potential for the biggest health gains as well as financial return on investment. In a linked paper, Bertholet and colleagues report findings from their trial that investigated use of a smartphone app to reduce alcohol consumption in students | BMJ editorial, UK
Potentially faulty data spotted in surveys of drug use and other behaviors among LGBQ youth
Federal data on LGBQ student health contain a significant amount of potentially exaggerated or untruthful responses, raising questions about how they might skew people’s understanding of risky behavior among teens. These inaccuracies affect some responses more than others. That’s according to an analysis my colleagues and I did of high school surveys administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better known as the CDC | Conversation, USA