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Daily news - 8th March 2023 |
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UK news
No Smoking Day: Smokers unaware that quitting smoking will reduce risk of dementia - Press release
March 8th. Smokers are being urged to give quitting a go for No Smoking Day. This year, the theme for no smoking day is “stopping smoking improves your brain health” and is supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK | ASH, UK
Research Briefing: National no smoking day
A Westminster Hall debate has been scheduled for Thursday 9 March for National no smoking day. The debate will be opened by Bob Blackman MP | House of Commons, UK
75,000 GP appointments could be freed every month by ending smoking – charity
Ending smoking in England would free up some 75,000 GP appointments every single month, a charity has estimated. Cancer Research UK said that the Government must do more to prevent young people starting smoking and to help current smokers kick the habit | Independent, UK
Rise in people using cannabis to treat health conditions - but doctors warn patients are putting themselves at risk
A new poll has found that 1.8 million people in the UK are using the illegal cannabis market to alleviate symptoms - up by 29% from 2019 - with around £3.57bn being spent each year on buying the drug | ITV, UK
Official Statistics: Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE): March 2023 update
In 2021, there were 20,970 deaths that were related to alcohol in England, equating to a rate of 38.5 per 100,000 population. Of these 7,872 deaths were from chronic liver disease equating to a rate of 14.5 per 100,000 population and 7,556 deaths were wholly caused by alcohol equating to a rate of 13.9 per 100,000 population | OHID, UK
Official Statistics: Local tobacco control profiles: March 2023 update
In 2021, there were 26,410 deaths from lung cancer in England, equating to a rate of 48.5 per 100,000 population. In the same period there were 21,701 deaths from COPD in England in 2021, equating to a rate of 39.8 per 100,000 population | OHID, UK
Substance Use: Birmingham's Adult Treatment Service & Young People's (12 - 25 years) Substance Use Service - Soft Market Testing Exercise
Birmingham City Council is interested in assessing the market to establish the options for the delivery of Adults Substance Use Treatment Service (18+) & Young People's (12 - 25) Substance Use Service. Birmingham City Council are looking for informal expressions of interest on the abovementioned services at this stage in order to establish the level of market interest | Birmingham City Council, UK
Rough sleepers in Shropshire offered drug and alcohol treatment
Reset, a new drug and alcohol treatment support service aimed at helping rough sleepers, has been launched | BBC, UK
Prisoners' Release: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve continuity of care for prisoners released while they are undergoing drug treatment services | They work for you, UK
Secure Accommodation: Drugs
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of drug-related deaths across the secure estate | They work for you, UK
Our city has a drinking problem but there are signs of recovery
With Liverpool ranked third in the country for alcoholism, we look at the different factors behind the problem in the city and the important work being done to address it | Liverpool Echo, UK
'Nuisance' laughing gas seller banned from city centre
A man branded a "nuisance" by police has been banned from Bristol city centre during certain times after he was caught selling nitrous oxide | BBC, UK
International news
‘The area I’m from is very rough’: Drug users’ views on the role of social and economic factors in their experiences of drug-related harm
Over the last thirty-five years, academic researchers in Ireland have consistently demonstrated the relationship between social deprivation and the most severe instances of drug-related harm... The current study conducted 12 in-depth interviews with drug users experiencing harm in an Irish city, in order to elicit their views on the specific role they believe social and economic factors played in conditioning their later experiences of drug-related harm | Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, UK
I Was a Teen Ecstasy Dealer in the 90s
"We kept the Es in Kinder Egg capsules and we’d walk into the clubs with our pockets bursting." | VICE, UK
EMCDDA webinar: Responding to stimulant use: developments in treatment responses
22 MAR 2023. In this webinar, we will begin our conversation with updates on the scientific research, discussing the results of the latest systematic reviews and also highlighting ongoing European studies. We will then bridge the gap between research and practice, learning from the experience of treating methamphetamine-related problems with prescription stimulants as well as identifying key policy and practice questions | EMCDDA, Portugal
Researchers find rate of fatal opioid poisonings among children more than doubled over 13-year span
Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have found that opioids were responsible for more than half of all fatal poisonings in children ages 5 and younger between 2005 and 2018, more than double the proportion of fatal poisonings caused by opioids in 2005 | Medical Xpress, USA
Drinking, drug use and driving increased in West Virginia during COVID-19, study finds
One West Virginia trauma center saw an uptick in alcohol and drug use by patients treated for motor vehicle collision injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a West Virginia University study. More specifically, researchers found patients were using a greater number of drugs, including cannabinoids, opioids and stimulants during the pandemic than prior to its onset | Medical Xpress, USA
Oklahoma voters say 'no' to recreational marijuana ballot question
Twenty-one states have legalized adult use of cannabis, with conservative states like Montana and Missouri having approved proposals similar to Oklahoma's in recent years | NBC, USA
Spread Across Cities, Could Fire Stations Host Safe Consumption Sites?
There are 41 fire stations spread across Calgary, Alberta. To a group of University of Calgary medical students, they represent an untapped harm reduction resource, as potential venues for supervised consumption sites (SCS), where people can use banned drugs with peers and staff trained and equipped to reverse overdoses | Filter Magazine, USA
Alberta Revokes Pharmacy Access for “High-Potency” Safe Supply Opioids
People with opioid use disorder in Alberta can no longer pick up safe supply medications like hydromorphone from pharmacies, following the March 4 implementation of a new policy that severely restricts access to “high-potency opioid narcotics.” | Filter Magazine, USA
Engaging patients who use alcohol and other drugs: A practical approach
The treatment of alcohol and other drugs (AOD)-related issues is an essential skill for all general practitioners (GPs). The ongoing harm and significant burden of disease experienced by people who use AOD, as well as the impact of this on their families and communities, displays the need for engagement and upskilling in this clinical area | AJGP, Australia
Alcohol delivery services used to extend drinking sessions: study
A survey of Australian adults who use popular alcohol delivery sites found one in five utilised a service to continue a home drinking session | UNSW, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Nitrous oxide: Suella Braverman’s call to have the drug reclassified has been rejected by government advisers
The UK government’s advisory panel on drugs has rejected a call to ban the sale and possession of nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas or nos – despite the home secretary’s desire to see the drug banned | Conversation, UK
Is tobacco promotion through music making a comeback?
We know that there are tobacco references in music and in the image portrayed by musicians, often associated with themes of rebellion. Smoking content in the media is a causal factor in experimentation and uptake by young people, likely due to social learning. Furthermore, the tobacco industry has previously attempted to target ‘hip’ music events to sell cigarettes: For example, Camel cigarettes shifted marketing tactics in the 1990’s to target the hipster persona through events such as promotional music tours | BMJ opinion, UK
How Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Suicide Risk – and How Can it Be Managed?
Each year, about 800,000 people die from suicide. Death from suicide often does not just impact people engaging in the act. In fact, each suicide has been shown to intimately impact at least six other people. Other impacts of suicide have also been sizeable. For example, economic costs of suicide amount to over $5.5 billion dollars annually in countries with the highest life expectancy, education, and income | IAS blog, UK