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Daily news - 22nd February 2023

UK news

Alcohol treatment services

The safe level of alcohol consumption continues to be the subject of research and policy debate worldwide, but it is clear that excessive drinking can have costs for both society and individuals. This briefing sets out the background of alcohol consumption and associated harm. It considers current access to, and outcomes from, treatment services, before outlining the current levels of spending, use of, and outcomes from, alcohol treatment services | NAO, UK

Taking the initiative: how England is eliminating hepatitis C (PDF)

This report explores how the elimination programme has developed between NHS England, three pharmaceutical industry providers, and voluntary sector organisations since 2019, and profiles twelve ‘elimination initiatives’ that have been developed in different parts of the country and the wider health and care system as a result. These include efforts to find, test and treat people in community settings, the criminal justice system, primary care, drug services, Emergency Departments and other services. The report gives a first-of-its-kind picture of what these initiatives involved and next steps to build on them in the final period of the programme, due to expire in 2024 | HCV Action, UK

NHS Stop Smoking Services Scotland

In 2021/22, the number of attempts to stop smoking made with the help of NHS Stop Smoking Services fell for the tenth consecutive year to 31,359. This is a 0.9% reduction from 2020/21 and a 74.2% reduction from when the number of quit attempts were at their peak in 2011/12. The statistics being reported in this release correspond to the period when Scotland was facing the COVID-19 pandemic and should therefore be interpreted with caution | Public Health Scotland, UK

Professor Sir Chris Whitty attacks 'appalling' marketing of vapes to children

England’s chief medical officer has attacked the “appalling” marketing of vapes to children – saying it is clear some products are intended to appeal to underage kids | ITV, UK

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to discourage underage vaping | They work for you, UK

City awarded £1.9m for drug and alcohol treatment

A city has been awarded more than £1.9m from the government for drug and alcohol treatment services over the next two years. Peterborough City Council was previously allocated about £600,000 for the same services in 2022-23 | BBC, UK

Experts brand Labour’s drugs policy as ‘disappointing and outdated’ after Steve Reed rules out cannabis legalisation

Harm reduction campaigner Peter Krykant invited the Shadow Justice Secretary to meet him after “depressing” drugs policy comments | National World, UK

Women, sexuality and alcohol marketing

Tue, April 4, 2023, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM BST. The webinar will present findings of an Economic and Social Research Council funded project, led by Dr Amanda Marie Atkinson, Reader in the Sociology of Public Health at the Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University. The project explored the nature, influence, creation and regulation of gendered and sexualised alcohol brand and nightlife venue marketing, focussing on the targeting and representation of women | Public Health Institute at LJMU, UK

International news

Research raises concerns over relationship between major US alcohol research institution and the alcohol industry

A new study has uncovered extensive interactions between one of the world’s leading funders of alcohol research and alcohol industry groups, sparking concern about the industry’s influence on science and public health policy | University of York, UK

Cannabis worth €2.4m seized by police in Dublin

Cannabis with an estimated street value of €2.4m (£2.1m) has been seized in south Dublin, gardaí (Irish police) have said | BBC, UK

Medicinal cannabis: the route to good manufacturing practice registration

Following on from the first GMP registration of a cannabis API for a UK pharmaceutical facility, EPR spoke with Celadon Pharmaceuticals about how it navigated the complex regulatory landscape | EPR, UK

Mexico's ex-security minister Genaro García Luna convicted of drug trafficking

Genaro García Luna, once Mexico's security minister, was found guilty of taking millions of dollars from Mexico's biggest crime group, the Sinaloa drug cartel | BBC, UK

In remembrance: Mr. Bernard Leroy

It is with sadness that the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) announces the passing of Mr. Bernard Leroy, Member of the Board, on 20 February 2023. Mr. Leroy was a member of the International Narcotics Control Board since 2015, having been elected by the Economic and Social Council on 23 April 2014 and re-elected by the Council for a five-year term (2020-2025) on 7 May 2019 | INCB, Austria

Disposable Vapes Debate Flares Up After UK Moves

One of the world’s most vape-friendly countries, the United Kingdom, is becoming frostier toward single-use versions of the harm reduction products. The debate, which is mirrored internationally, pits environmental concerns and familiar fears of youth uptake against the specific role of disposables in helping people switch from smoking| Filter Magazine, USA

Researchers: Rethink e-cigarettes’ role in treating cigarette smokers’ nicotine addiction

Should electronic cigarettes, or vapes, be accepted more widely as an effective and respected tool for treating adult smokers’ nicotine addiction? Kenneth Warner, dean emeritus and the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, says there is enough evidence to support e-cigarettes’ use as a first-line aid for smoking cessation in adults | University of Michegan, USA

California Launches $20 Million Grant Program To Support Cannabis Retailers

Regulators in California announced last week the launch of a new program designed to increase consumer access to legal marijuana in cities and counties that have not yet licensed cannabis retailers in their jurisdictions. Under the program from California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), up to $20 million in grants will be available to provide local jurisdictions with resources to expand access to regulated cannabis products in underserved areas | Forbes, USA

15-Year-Old Facing 40 Years After Allegedly Selling Fentanyl to Teen Who Died

A 15-year-old Wisconsin girl has been charged as an adult for allegedly selling another teen fentanyl that caused him to die of an overdose, in one of the more extreme examples of a death-by-dealer case | VICE, USA

“Regressive Thinking” Ends Syringe, Pipe Distribution at Edmonton Transit Stations

Until recently, Boyle Street Community Services staff had been handing out various harm reduction tools to people who wanted and needed them at Edmonton Transit Services (ETS) stations. Now, the city of almost a million inhabitants in Alberta, Canada, has barred the charity from distributing sterile syringes and pipes through the program | Filter Magazine, USA

[Open access] Changes to drug markets can affect drug use and related harms. We aimed to describe market trends of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy in Australia following the introduction of COVID-19 pandemic-associated restrictions | IJDP, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

E-cigarettes should be in plain packaging – just like cigarettes

Vaping is a rapidly growing habit in Great Britain, particularly among younger people. Research by the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health found that in 2022 7% of 11- to 17-year-olds in Great Britain used e-cigarettes, up from 3.3% the year before | Conversation, UK

For drug reform to progress, modern politicians should look to the past

Efforts to reform our drug laws to make them more humane are being ignored by a generation of politicians who follow rather than lead, writes Jay Jackson | Volteface, UK

“The best me probably would be better without alcohol”: What women told us about the sober curious movement

While Australian women’s alcohol consumption is increasing and for various reasons, the global ‘sober curious’ movement is also growing. Our studies involving some of Australia’s heaviest drinkers – midlife women – show women do feel motivated to drink less, but they need to be supported by a social environment and public health campaigns that enable them to do so | IAS blog, UK

Decriminalizing hard drugs in B.C. will help reduce the stigma of substance abuse

Substance use disorder is a chronic but treatable medical condition. Unlike other physical and mental health conditions, however, substance use disorder — or addiction — has historically been seen as a moral failing and was for many years relegated to the fringes of the medical community | Conversation, Canada

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