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Daily news - 23rd August 2023 |
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UK news
Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2022
Statistics of drug-related deaths in 2022 and earlier years, broken down by age, sex, substances implicated in the death, underlying cause of death, and NHS Board and Council areas. In 2022 there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in Scotland This is 279 deaths fewer than in 2021 and the lowest number of drug misuse deaths since 2017. The rate of drug misuse deaths is still much higher than at the beginning of the series in 1996 | National Records of Scotland, UK
Decrease in drug-related deaths
Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham has welcomed a record fall in the number of drug-related deaths – and has reaffirmed her commitment to continue the National Mission to reduce deaths and improve lives impacted by drugs | Scottish Government, UK
Scottish drug deaths drop to lowest level for five years
The number of people who died due to drug misuse in Scotland last year fell by 279 to the lowest level for five years | BBC, UK
‘More than numbers to us’: how a homeless project is preventing Scottish drug deaths
“The things I’ve seen…” Laura – script gripped in one hand, her other on her hip – delivers her line with convincing knowingness | The Ferret, UK
Woman who lost cousin to drugs says decriminalisation calls ‘give hope’
Jolene Crawford has campaigned for change with the group Anyone’s Child following the death of her cousin Alan 15 years ago | Independent, UK
Stigma is stopping an evidence based response to drug overdose deaths in the UK
[Open access] Andy Guise and colleagues argue that UK government opposition to drug consumption rooms is underpinned by, and reproduces stigma towards, drug use and people who use drugs | BMJ, UK
HCV Action National Hepatitis C ODN Event 2023
Starts on Tue, 12 Sep 2023 09:30 BST. This year's HCV Action ODN Event is now open for registration. The event is the annual gathering of the hepatitis C professional community to discuss progress towards elimination, showcase best practice and successful projects, and identify solutions to common challenges in reaching elimination. Participants can join us in person in Coventry at the same venue as last year, or dial in remotely as the talks and discussions will be livestreamed throughout the day | HCV Action, UK
Recovery Games 2023 – save the date!
16th September 2023. This year is the 10th anniversary of The Recovery Games in Doncaster, a free event brought you by Aspire Recovery. It will see up to 40 teams compete in gladiator style events with last year 1000 people attending . Registrations formally open at the beginning of July and teams can be made up of all ages of people in recovery , treatment or working in the field. The event has loads of stalls and activities for family and friends of People in Recovery and we have something very special for the 10th Year. See a short clip throughout the years – hope to see you – Neil & Stuart for more info please contact stuart.green4@nhs.net | Aspire, UK
Recovery Walk UK – Hull
23rd September 2023. One of the biggest celebrations of people in recovery in the UK. The UK Recovery Walk 2023 will be held in Hull from 11.00am on Saturday 23rd September. Individuals and families will walk through the centre of the town to celebrate the event | FAVOR, UK
Man arrested after £2m Gloucester cannabis factory discovered
Police said more than 2,300 plants were found across two floors of a previously disused building in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, on Monday | BBC, UK
International news
Portugal's drug consumption rooms are important, users say - video
Despite having almost double the population of Scotland - 10.3 million compared with 5.5 million - Portugal has far fewer drug deaths. There were just 74 in 2021 compared with 1,330 in Scotland in the same year - the latest for which comparable data is available - although the rate in Scotland has since fallen | BBC, UK
Vaping found to be the biggest risk factor for teenage tobacco smoking
Data from Australian Secondary School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey predates ‘huge’ increase in vaping | Guardian, UK
Children and families affected by parental drug use - webinar
TODAY Wed, Aug 23, 2023 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM BST. Children living in families affected by substance dependence may experience a wide array of feelings and situations, such as anger, fear, isolation from their peers, parental neglect, as well as be victims or witnesses of domestic and sexual violence. While not all parents face difficulties in handling substance dependence and taking care of themselves and dependent children at the same time, some families may require support from the community and social services | ISSUP, UK
Alarming study on rural drug use no surprise to Limerick services
Support workers with a Limerick-based outreach addiction service say they are not surprised by a new study which points to increasing heavy drug and alcohol use among famers and rural dwellers | Limerick Post, Ireland
Police involvement may hamstring overdose outreach efforts
A new study finds law enforcement officials play a critical role in launching programs designed to reduce the risk of repeat overdoses in people who use drugs. However, the study also raises concerns that law enforcement's involvement in the outreach component of these programs may undermine program effectiveness | Medical Xpress, USA
ASHES, Vol. 19(9) – Common reasons behind public perceptions of e-cigarettes in Northern England
Although adolescent e-cigarette use is a public health concern, e-cigarettes do produce fewer toxic chemicals than conventional cigarettes and are effective in aiding smoking cessation. Misinformed public perceptions of e-cigarettes might lead smokers to continue smoking conventional cigarettes rather than e-cigarettes, which could negatively impact public health. This week, ASHES reviews a mixed methods study by Humairah Arshad and colleagues that examined the common reasons behind public perceptions of e-cigarettes and its role in smoking cessation in Northern England | BASIS, USA
DE Lifts “One-to-One” Cap on Syringe Exchange, a Reform Long Overdue
Delaware syringe service programs (SSP) are no longer limited to “one-to-one” exchange, a widely criticized policy that restricts SSP from distributing sterile syringes to people who use drugs unless they bring in at least as many used ones to exchange. New legislation that took effect August 9 “directs the State’s current needle exchange program to take a needs-based approach,” the standard for public health | Filter Magazine, USA
Australians are often called the world's biggest cocaine users. It's not that clean-cut
Far, far away from cocaine manufacturers, Australia has become an attractive destination for traffickers - and authorities think they're now trying to funnel in more cocaine than ever before | SBS News, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
SDF Statement on Scotland’s Public Health Emergency
Scotland has made an inadequate response to the on-going public health emergency and now faces the emerging threat of a drug supply containing new synthetic opioids. This situation demands the urgent implementation of the full range of evidence-based practice and policy now | SDF, UK
Decriminalisation Under Attack: US Media Goes After Oregon’s Drug Policy Model
As a new attempt to control drug-related harms in a non-punitive fashion, the Oregon decriminalisation model has had an unsteady start, struggling with an incredibly toxic drug supply and a short implementation period. This has not been helped by what intense targeting of opinion pieces, perspectives and columns across all major American news outlets, criticising the model’s implementation | Talking Drugs, UK
A Comparison of US and UK Physicians Advice on Nicotine and Vaping
In 2020, an academic paper suggested that more than 80% of U.S. physicians mistakenly thought that nicotine was a carcinogen. The implication of this finding was that perhaps physicians thought vaping (and even nicotine-replacement therapy) to be almost as dangerous as smoking. But physicians are busy people and I suggest that some, maybe most, might have misunderstood the question in the survey and assumed the researchers were asking about smoking | Truth on the Market, USA