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Daily news - 16th March 2023

UK news

Cigarette prices rise but draught beer duty is frozen

The price of a packet of cigarettes rose hours after the Budget while drinkers will see tax on alcohol go up by 10.1% in August, in line with inflation | BBC, UK

Tobacco tax rises welcomed by ASH and SPECTRUM but concerns raised

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the SPECTRUM public health research consortium welcomed today’s increase in tobacco taxes of 2% above inflation(RPI) for cigarettes. For this year that will mean 95 pence increase on a pack of 20 cigarettes | ASH, UK

AHA responds to UK Government’s decision to increase most alcohol duty

Responding to the Chancellor’s decision to increase most alcohol duty from 1st August, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said... | AHA, UK

Notification of tobacco or herbal products for smoking

Updated guidance to include information on the new system for submitting data about tobacco and herbal products intended for sale in Great Britain | OHID, UK

Proscribed Psychedelic Drugs

Crispin Blunt: Since the United States—directed by the FBI of Harry Anslinger under J. Edgar Hoover—corralled the world into agreeing a 1961 UN convention on comprehensive narcotic prohibition, global drug policy has a decent claim to being the greatest public policy failure since 1945. The casualties and costs, certainly, are cumulatively much greater than those of any conflict of the period | They work for you, UK

Thousands call on Government to expand opt-out testing for hepatitis and HIV

Leading charities have delivered an open letter to Public Health Minister Neil O’Brien and NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard, urging them to expand opt-out HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing in emergency departments across the country | Hepatitis C Trust, UK

Amazon sells large canisters of laughing gas 'with no questions asked'

Large canisters of laughing gas can be bought on Amazon “no questions asked”, Parliament has been told, as ministers were urged to crack down on their sale | ITV, UK

Litter pickers’ recycling project turns ‘laughing gas’ canisters into community cash

Used nitrous oxide canisters are causing severe littering problems throughout the city, but a Liverpool litter-picking group has spotted an opportunity to tidy up and do some extra good by recycling the canisters to gain money for community projects. The Penny Lane Wombles have collected a total of 652 nitrous oxide, otherwise known as ‘laughing gas’, canisters this year | Mersey News Live, UK

BDP Launches Coffee Blend

To honour Maggie Telfer OBE’s life and work as CEO of Bristol Drugs Project we are today launching with Noni’s Coffee Roasters a dedicated coffee blend | BDP, UK

Parents of toddler believed to have eaten cannabis-laced chocolate to stand trial

The parents of a toddler believed to have eaten cannabis-laced chocolate are to stand trial for alleged child cruelty, a judge ordered today | ITV, UK

International news

Cocaine smuggling and production at record high since pandemic retreat

New UN report says there has been a 35% spike in 2020-21 in the production of coca, the drug’s base ingredient | Guardian, UK

Party's over as judge cuts Miami Beach last call for alcohol

A judge has approved last call for alcohol to shift from 5am to 2am in certain parts of Miami Beach after noise complaints from city residents | BBC, UK

Infants of mothers given opioids after birth are at low risk of harm, says study

Infants born to mothers prescribed opioids after delivery, mostly after a cesarean, are at no greater risk of harm shortly after birth than infants of mothers not prescribed opioids, finds a large study from Canada published by The BMJ today | Medical Xpress, USA

Implementation of post-overdose programs associated with decrease in opioid fatality rate

New research from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Public Health found that municipalities with high numbers of opioid-related emergencies that introduced post-overdose programs were associated with lower opioid related death rates over time when compared to those that did not implement these programs | Medical Xpress, USA

Comparison with Canada highlights poor access to US methadone treatment

People living in the United States must travel significantly farther to access methadone treatment for opioid addiction than Canadians, suggests a new study led by Washington State University researchers | Medical Xpress, USA

BC Indigenous Drug Users Describe Pattern of Forced Discharges From ED

In 2011, public health researchers in Vancouver began conducting interviews with people who use drugs and had either been discharged from an emergency department (ED) or left against medical advice (AMA). More than a decade in the making, the recently published findings are a stark picture of anti-Indigenous racism and systemic refusal to treat pain—and of how little has changed | Filter Magazine, USA

Massachusetts Post-Menthols Ban: Mixed Smoking Impacts, More Policing

Massachusetts is experiencing the aftershocks of menthol prohibition. In 2020, the Bay State became the first in the country to enact a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, smokeless tobacco and vaping products. As such, it’s a real-life case study of the potential impacts of a proposed federal menthols ban. And while research on smoking rates currently raises as many questions as answers, the escalation of nicotine law enforcement is beyond dispute | Filter Magazine, USA

Volatile inhalants

Newly updated factsheet covering everything you need to know about volatile inhalants | NDARC, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Spiking – a sinister and under-reported crime

Spiking is one of the things we get asked about quite a lot during our workshops in schools. It is understandable, given the relative frequency with which stories appear in the media. It is also something of which the DSM Foundation team has first-hand experience: drugs educator Asha has been spiked three times | DSM Foundation blog, UK