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Daily news - 7th June 2023 |
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UK news
Mortality among individuals prescribed opioid-agonist therapy in Scotland, UK, 2011–20: a national retrospective cohort study
[Open access] Drug-related death (DRD) rate in Scotland, UK, has increased rapidly to one of the highest in the world. Our aim was to examine the extent to which opioid-agonist therapy (OAT) in Scotland is protective against drug-related mortality and how this effect has varied over time| Lancet, UK
Support for the Anti-Stigma Network - Early Day Motion
This motion has been signed by 11 Members. Motion text: That this House recognises that people harmed by drug and alcohol use should be treated fairly, justly and with dignity; further recognises that they are, however, frequently dehumanised, marginalised and discriminated against; acknowledges that negative preconceptions and stereotypes present a major obstacle to people accessing harm-reduction and recovery services; welcomes the recent launch of the Anti-Stigma Network, whose mission is to improve understanding of the stigma and discrimination experienced by people harmed by drug and alcohol use... | UK Parliament, UK
Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain
In March/April 2023 the proportion of children experimenting with vaping had grown by 50% year on year, from one in thirteen to one in nine. Children’s awareness of promotion of vapes has also grown, particularly in shops where more than half of all children report seeing e-cigarettes being promoted, and online where nearly a third report e-cigarette promotion. Only one in five children now say they never see vapes promoted, down from 31% last year | ASH, UK
ASH response to vaping consultation calls on government to urgently implement four high impact interventions
ASH publishes its priority recommendations to government which are designed to reduce the affordability, accessibility, appeal and advertising of vaping to children | ASH, UK
'You want to vape because it's like a trend'
Schools in Scotland are struggling to combat the rise of vaping in young people and children, teaching staff have claimed | BBC, UK
First for smokers as london’s position on vaping for adult smokers is published
A pan-London partnership for tobacco control has launched a first-of its kind position statement for London, calling for those working with adult smokers to encourage them to swap to vaping to stop smoking | London Tobacco Alliance, UK
Toolkit to help people who inject drugs look after their veins, minimise pain and prevent infections
A new toolkit to support people who inject drugs to care for their veins and make changes to prevent bacterial infections and related health problems is available for free on the University of Bristol’s express licensing portal | NIHR, UK
‘Be bold, be brave’: 1919 speaks to the Scottish Drugs Forum’s new CEO, Kirsten Horsburgh, about how to tackle Scotland’s drugs death toll
[You may need to scroll down the page to the On the Record section] Kirsten Horsburgh has a mountain to climb. Her new role as chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum – the expert national resource on drug issues which helps shape Scotland’s drugs policy – will soon see her face her first set of what will no doubt be bleak statistics | 1919 Magazine, UK
Service of Remembrance for Those Who Have Died Affected by Homelessness
Wednesday 21 June at 2.00pm. Bristol. Speaking at the service, Jon Kurht, CEO of Hope into Action, will be offering insight into how faith and community groups address homelessness. A list of names of those who died due to homelessness in Bristol will be read out during the service and candles will be lit as an act of remembrance. All are welcome, including dogs | Bristol Cathedral, UK
Alcohol use in the cost-of-living crisis
Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:00 - 15:00 BST. The cost-of-living crisis has pushed many households into poverty, but what does this mean for the nation's health? | IAS, UK
The Forward Trust Employability Day Awards Event 2023
Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:00 - 14:00 BST. To celebrate Employability Day 2023, The Forward Trust are hosting an Awards Event with Speakers at the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery | The Forward Trust Employment Services Directorate, UK
Durham: Hundreds of illegal vapes seized by council
Among more than 300 items confiscated was a vape which looked like a child's milkshake holder despite containing nicotine and having a tank 10 times bigger than the 2ml legal size | BBC, UK
Cannabis worth £1m found at empty building in Wellington
Officers found the drugs when they executed a warrant at disused business premises on Walker Street, Wellington on Friday. They discovered more than 1,000 plants spread over multiple floors of the building, West Mercia Police said | BBC, UK
International news
Opioid crisis: how the UK will be affected by the Taliban’s poppy ban
The Taliban is clamping down on heroin production. UK experts warn this could lead to an explosion of dangerous synthetic opioids | The Face, UK
Adolescent binge drinking in the West of Ireland: associated risk and protective factors
Alcohol is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Adolescence is when alcohol use typically begins. Harmful patterns of alcohol consumption, such as binge drinking, may emerge during adolescence and become established. This study aimed to examine potential risk and protective factors for binge drinking among 15–16-year-old adolescents in the West of Ireland | BMC Public Health, UK
Cocaine and crack cocaine health-related harms in the South Inner City. A report commissioned by the South Inner City Drugs and Alcohol Task Force (PDF)
The South Inner City Drugs And Alcohol Task Force (SICDATF) area comprises twenty Electoral Divisions of Dublin. The SICDATF members, over the last four years, have raised their concerns about the proliferating drug problem in South Inner-City communities. The issues are the critical level of crack cocaine use and the accumulating detrimental impact this activity has on the South Inner-City communities, drug misuse, visible drug activity, and drug-related intimidation | SICDATF, Ireland
HHS Publishes National Model Standards for Substance Use, Mental Health, and Family Peer Worker Certifications
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), today published National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification (PDF) for substance use, mental health and family peer workers. The national model standards were created to accelerate universal adoption, recognition, and integration of the peer workforce across all elements of the healthcare system | SAMHSA, USA
Researchers look at opioid use disorder treatment through eyes of patients
Patients would be more willing to enter medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder if existing stigmas were reduced and more accessible payment support was readily available, a West Virginia University study finds | Medical Xpress, USA
Medical marijuana is finally here, but many Georgia doctors shy away from it
Medical marijuana might be new to Georgia, but it isn't new. Thirty-seven other states allow the use of the products. Yet some Georgia doctors seem wary of medical cannabis. For many of them, the reason is simple: They were never trained how to use it during medical school or residency, so it's not on the list of treatment options they consider | Medical Xpress, USA
Developing a framework for sexual health and substance use programming for Black girls
Black girls frequently face disparities related to sexual health and substance use programs. Existing programs frequently lack resources to address their specific needs. This week STASH reviews a study by Ijeoma Opara and colleagues that proposes a new strength-based framework that discusses how to develop sexual health and substance use programs specifically for Black girls | BASIS, USA
Vape Pricing Critical If FDA Limits Nicotine in Cigarettes, Study Finds
Moves by regulators to limit the nicotine content of cigarettes would encourage people to buy full-nicotine cigarettes from illegal sources, according to a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. But the availability of affordable vape products, the paper also suggests, would curb that migration to the illicit market | Filter Magazine, USA
Patients with unmet mental health needs are turning to medicinal cannabis
New research shows Australian healthcare practitioners are often prescribing medicinal cannabis for psychiatric conditions where the evidence for effectiveness is unclear | University of Sydney, Australia
A Psychedelic Renaissance? 'Blue Honey' and what's next for psilocybin in Aotearoa
Magic mushrooms, also known as shrooms or mushies, are fungi containing the naturally occurring psychedelic compound, psilocybin. In pop culture, shrooms are typically portrayed as a drug people munch down to embark on cartoony psychedelic trips bursting with vibrant colours, crazy hallucinations, and feelings of connectedness with nature. However, around the world there is a growing movement to explore the drug’s therapeutic potential | NZDF, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Alcohol control policies for everyone?
Despite its negative effects on health, many people around the world consume alcohol regularly and at risky levels. As a consequence, alcohol is among the leading risk factors for premature death | IAS blog, UK
Truly Unprecedented: The Taliban Drugs Ban v2.0.
With the Taliban having exceeded expectations and reduced poppy cultivation to levels not seen since 2001, there is now a real need to understand the potential effects of the drugs ban on Afghanistan, the region, and further downstream | Alcis, UK
Here’s the truth of what happened inside S.F.’s controversial Tenderloin Center
For 11 months, I helped run one of the most innovative drug overdose prevention initiatives in the U.S. I have largely yet to talk about the experience — until now | San Francisco Chronicle, USA
Disentangling the messiness of natural experiments to evaluate public policy
Holmes summarizes 12 studies that have explored whether the introduction of MUP policy in 2018 has led to the theorized reduction in consumption in Scotland overall and among population subgroups most likely to experience alcohol-related harm, including men, harmful drinkers and those living in the most disadvantaged circumstances. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these heterogeneous studies have produced some heterogeneous findings | Addiction commentary, Australia