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Daily news - 20th January 2023

UK news

Substance misuse treatment for adults: statistics 2021 to 2022

Statistics on alcohol and drug misuse treatment for adults from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) | OHID, UK

Government Alcohol Strategy 2012

Parliamentary debate brought by Dan Carden MP. I beg to move, That this House has considered the 2012 Alcohol Strategy | They work for you, UK

Local councillors from across England have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, urging the government to bring forward a new Tobacco Control Plan for England and to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers | ASH, UK

Disposable vapes ban to be considered for Scotland

It follows a campaign against the cheap e-cigarettes, which contain lithium batteries, because of the threat they pose to the environment | BBC, UK

[Open access] Public support makes an important contribution to drug policy development but there are high levels of public stigma towards people who use drugs (PWUD), and this is partly shaped by media representations. We investigated whether depiction of the characteristics of decedents represented in news articles about DRD was associated with differences in stigmatising attitudes and support for harm reduction policy | IJDP, UK

Five-year plan published to tackle city's drugs-death crisis

The number of lives lost to substance abuse in the city has fallen from 72 in 2019 to 52 in 2021, but progress has been described as “too slow” | STV, UK

Medical cannabis company Hilltop Leaf secures £2m investment

A medical cannabis company based in the south of Scotland has secured a £2m investment that will allow it to make its first commercial sales | BBC, UK

New Vice-Chair of the NHS APA: Kate Hall

We're delighted to announce that Kate Hall has recently been appointed as the new Vice Chair of the NHS APA, taking over from Dr Emily Finch | NHS APA, UK

Remembering Abdullah Jonathan Wallace

We would like to say goodbye to our visionary founder, Abdullah Jonathan Wallace, who passed away, aged 80, on January 17 2023, in Bahrain, after a long illness | Forward Trust, UK

Jesse Lingard: Nottingham Forest midfielder says he turned to alcohol whilst at Man Utd

Nottingham Forest's Jesse Lingard says he turned to drink "to try and take the pain away," as he struggled to deal with his career at Manchester United | BBC, UK

Dark web drug dealer used NHS logo and called himself Narcotic Health Service

Kurtis Jordan Dunphy has been jailed for an operation supplying LSD, ecstasy, oxycodone, cannabis and Valium-type substances | Metro, UK

International news

Special Issue: Drug Checking - From guerrilla to government agent: the full spectrum of drug checking services

Download a number of papers on drug Checking from this special issue of Drugs, Habits and Social Policy for free, until 24th January | Drugs, Habits and Social Policy, UK

The 99% sober movement: should we keep dry January going all year?

There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption, according to new guidelines from Canada. What does this mean for moderate drinkers? | Guardian, UK

Australia unlikely to follow Canada in slashing alcohol consumption guidelines

Expert says difference in nations’ advice reflects contrasting risk appetite rather than failure to keep up with evidence | Guardian, UK

Opioids Prescribed to Adults at Discharge From Emergency Departments: United States, 2017–2020

Opioids may be an effective treatment for chronic and acute pain when properly used. However, receiving an opioid prescription in the emergency department (ED) has been identified as a potential risk factor for long-term use. Between 2010–2011 and 2016–2017, the percentage of opioids prescribed at ED discharge decreased from 21.5% to 14.6% | CDC, USA

Availability of recreational cannabis reduced demand for prescription codeine

States that permit recreational use of cannabis see a reduction in demand for prescription codeine, an opioid with a high potential for misuse, according to a new multi-institutional study led by University of Pittsburgh and Cornell University scientists | Medical Xpress, USA

Association of Changes in Smoking Intensity With Risk of Dementia in Korea

In this cohort study of 789 532 participants in Korea, smoking cessation was associated with decreased risk of dementia compared with sustained smoking. In addition, an increased risk of dementia was found in patients who reduced or increased cigarettes smoked per day compared with those who sustained a consistent rate of consumption | JAMA Network, USA

Statement from the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health (CCMOH) on Alcohol Consumption

Harms related to alcohol use represent a significant public health issue in Canada. This is why, as Chief Medical Officers of Health, we want to encourage all people across the country to become aware of the risks associated with alcohol consumption and encourage informed decision making about its use | Government of Canada, Canada

The long struggle for cigarette warnings has lessons for alcohol labels, experts say

Litigious companies, hesitant politicians, and dismissive Canadians part of the tobacco-warning fight | CBC News, Canada

Canberra's pill-testing results confirm that 'ketamine' is often another drug

Results from the first five months of the CanTEST trial show that only 53 per cent of drugs thought to be ketamine actually were | abc.net.au, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Voters Support the U.S. Government Passing N.Y. Equitable Marijuana Policy Measures

A Data for Progress survey of 1,228 likely voters in December 2022 examined whether voters support the U.S. government legalizing the adult use of recreational marijuana. The survey also gauged voter support for the U.S. government passing both of the equitable policy measures in New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. We find that voters overwhelmingly support the legalization of recreational marijuana by the U.S. government. We also find support among voters for the U.S. government to pass both policy measures if it were to legalize recreational marijuana | Data for Progress blog, USA

And finally...

Magpie can’t fly after having one too many fermented apples

A magpie was left looking worse for wear after it got drunk eating one too many fermented apples from a woman’s back garden | Metro, UK

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