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Daily news - 20th June 2023 |
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UK news
Advice on Xylazine and 2-Methyl-AP-237
The government commissions the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the harms of Xylazine and 2-Methyl-AP-237 | Home Office, UK
Open consultation - Major conditions strategy: call for evidence
This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 27 June. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is seeking your views and ideas on how to prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the groups of major conditions that contribute to ill health in England, including tackling risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco. Help ensure the alcohol and other drug sector gets its voice heard by completeing the survey | DHSC, UK
Guidance for government engagement with the tobacco industry
How government and public bodies should act to protect public health policies when engaging stakeholders with links to the tobacco industry. Full update to the document including adding new guidance for other UK government departments and bodies with common situations and example scenarios | DHSC, UK
'It's given me my life back': the Merseyside charity helping those with addiction problems
Drug-related deaths in Merseyside are falling for the first time in more than a decade thanks to a nationally funded drug, mental health and alcohol programme. In just two years more than 2,000 people have been helped by charity 'With You', which has been able to give access to a range of drug and alcohol treatment programmes thanks to the Government’s ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) funding programme | ITV, UK
Smoking survivors share life changing stories in new quitting campaign
Shocking, raw and life-changing experiences from former smokers in the North East take the spotlight in a major new quitting campaign. Fresh launched the Smoking Survivors campaign on Monday, June 19 with a powerful call to the region’s 314,000 smokers to “make a fresh quit” attempt | Fresh / Smoke Free North East, UK
Merseyside and Cheshire health officials call for vape ban
Health officials have joined forces to condemn the rise of disposable vapes and the "disgraceful" tactics tobacco companies use to target children. Nine directors of public health operating in Cheshire and Merseyside are calling for a country-wide ban on sales of disposable vapes | BBC, UK
The Antidepressant Story - video
In the UK, around one in seven now take an antidepressant. Globally they have made the pharmaceutical industry billions. When the current generation of drugs was launched 35 years ago, they promised a safe and effective treatment, free from the side effects of older medicines. But have they lived up to those claims? | BBC, UK
The APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence welcomes the Panorama investigation into antidepressants
The APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence is pleased that Panorama is shining a spotlight on the scandalous story of antidepressant overprescribing and dependence. While these drugs can be helpful for some people – at least over the short term – they have been prescribed much too easily too far too many people over recent decades | APPG for Prescribed Drug Dependence, UK
RCPsych responds to BBC Panorama programme on antidepressants
Following the broadcast of Panorama’s ‘The Antidepressant Story’, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has issued the following response... | RCPsych, UK
Homelessness charities fear target to end rough sleeping by 2024 will be missed
Rishi Sunak told his government appears to be going backwards on pledge to end rough sleeping in England | Guardian, UK
International news
Celebrities are smoking again: ‘Things are grungier, edgier, sleazier’
Not long ago, stars showed off their green juice and yoga mats. Now they’re showing off an old-fashioned vice | Guardian, UK
Legalise Cannabis makes united push for personal marijuana use in three Australian states
The party’s bill allowing adults to possess and grow small quantities of the drug at home will be introduced across Victoria, NSW and WA | Guardian, UK
Macron’s rugby club beer stunt sparks binge-drinking row
French president accused of irresponsibility and toxic masculinity after downing beer in 17 seconds | Guardian, UK
Airport police seize more than $3m worth of hidden cocaine
Airport officials in India have seized more than $3m (£2.5m) worth of cocaine that had been hidden inside polystyrene balls in a courier package | Independent, UK
Postoperative buprenorphine continuation in stabilized buprenorphine patients: A population cohort study
[Open access] Sudden discontinuation of buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid use disorder can increase the risk of subsequent relapse and overdose. Little is known about buprenorphine use in the perioperative period. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of buprenorphine continuation after hospital discharge following surgery and factors associated with continuation | Addiction, UK
National drug treatment reporting system, 2022 drug treatment demand (PDF)
In 2022, 12,009 cases were treated for problem drug use. This is the highest annual number recorded by the NDTRS to date | HRB, Ireland
Majority of addicts at drug rehab centres are hooked on cocaine
People addicted to cocaine are now dominating the numbers attending drug addiction treatment centres, with 20 to 34-year-olds among the most desperate to escape the scourge, a new report reveals | Independent, Ireland
Study finds assessment for opioid withdrawal doubles with use of automated prompt
A program nudging emergency department clinicians to identify and treat opioid use disorder was found to double assessment for opioid withdrawal and increase initiation of evidence-based treatment, a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania showed | Medical Xpress, USA
On the Outside Looking In: The Implementation of the Cannabis Act and its effects on Indigenous Peoples
First Nations people have not shared in economic opportunities stemming from the legalization of cannabis after the federal government ignored First Nations’ calls for jurisdiction over its possession, sale and distribution | Senate of Canada, Canada
Blogs, comment and opinion
The ‘vaping epidemic’: how cannabis reformers in britain should incorporate child safety into the argument for recreational legalisation
The rise of vaping among teenagers has led to the creation of a moral panic in Britain. It is the subject of BBC Question Time debates. The tabloids have been licking their lips with scaremongering headlines written in Caps Lock. The government are fast-tracking attempts to ‘crack down’ on loopholes | Volteface, UK
My generation drank to quell our self-loathing. Gen Z is admirably tough and teetotal
They are more likely to avoid alcohol than any other age group. Not easy, when you’re facing the nerves of starting university or navigating a new job | Guardian opinion, UK
Is Brazil’s ‘Anti-Cocaine' Vaccine a Solution or Social Control?
The recent announcement of additional funding for an “anti-cocaine” vaccine has raised concern across Brazilian harm reduction organisations. Experts from the region question the vaccine efficacy as well as the repercussions its implementation could bring to an already challenging context | Talking Drugs, UK
Cooking With Meth Canola: Overpriced oil and drug distractions
On the 14th of June 2023, several news outlets, including the ABC, the Age and Sky News, published a story about an Australian Federal Police (AFP) operation that seized six tons of methamphetamine concealed in a shipment of canola oil | AOD Media Watch, Australia