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Daily news - 15th May 2023

UK news

Education: Cannabis linked to increase in school exclusions

Cannabis related issues have led to an increase in exclusions from schools, a council report has found | BBC, UK

Hepatitis C home test kits available to most-at-risk in England

Home test kits for a virus which attacks the liver are now available to order online in England, as the NHS tries to reach those needing treatment | BBC, UK

Single-use vapes sparking surge in fires at UK waste plants

The 1.3m disposable e-cigarettes discarded every week often end up in general waste and their broken batteries are highly flammable | Guardian, UK

Roller skating event for girl who died from inhaling deodorant

The family of a girl who died after inhaling aerosol deodorant are holding a roller skating event to celebrate her life and raise awareness | BBC, UK

Humankind awarded contract to deliver the new drug and alcohol treatment services in Sheffield

We are thrilled to announce that we have been successful in our bid for the drug and alcohol treatment service, commissioned by Sheffield City Council | Humankind, UK

Tory MP Adam Afriyie who repeatedly promoted vaping didn’t declare wife’s shares in vape retailer

Labour has described the revelation as a “lobbying scandal” as it called for a ban on MPs acting as lobbyists | i news, UK

‘I kept my alcoholism secret on Mission: Impossible set,’ Simon Pegg reveals

The actor, now recovered, tells BBC’s Desert Island Discs he became ‘very sneaky’ about his drinking in the early 2000s | Guardian, UK

International news

Portugal could ban smoking near public buildings in October

Draft legislation also proposes restriction on sales with aim to be tobacco-free by 2040 | Guardian, UK

‘It’s already beyond Amsterdam’: How Thailand’s law change made it the new mecca for cannabis tourism

A cannabis cafe owner says the country has seen hordes of celebrities arriving since it became the first country in Asia to liberalise its marijuana laws | i news, UK

Report on young people's attitudes towards drugs calls for decriminalisation

47% of the young people surveyed thought that treatment and support was the solution to drug abuse | Journal, Ireland

Citizens' Assembly told that mother bought methadone on street for daughter

A mother has told the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use that she was forced to buy methadone off the street because her child could not access treatment services | RTe, Ireland

Society looking down on drug users 'through a pint glass', Citizens' Assembly hears

Society should not be looking down on drug users “through a pint glass”, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use heard | Irish Examiner, Ireland

Drug treatment centre: ‘This place saved my life and gave the kids back their mother’

Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use visits treatment centres to hear about impact of drugs on individuals | Irish Times, Ireland

A week of capacity-building, training and policy dialogues on alcohol control

14–19 May 2023, Tallinn, Estonia. The WHO European Region has the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world, as well as the highest rate of alcohol-use disorders and the lowest share of people abstaining from alcohol. On 14–19 May, WHO/Europe is organizing a series of events in Tallinn, Estonia for different target audiences: early career researchers, policy-makers from the Baltic states, scientists of a large project funded by the United States National Institute of Health, and health ministry focal points from all European countries | WHO, Switzerland

Steroids linked to long-lasting heart disease risk and worse quality of life

Anabolic steroids not only can cause serious side effects during use, such as heart failure and depression, but can continue being harmful years after stopping, according to two studies presented at the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology in Istanbul | Medical Xpress, USA

Where do psychedelics users find trusted information?

Against the backdrop of some 50 years of legal prohibitions, interest and activity surrounding psychedelics has been surging in recent decades. From new clinical research into psychedelic treatment of mental disorders and legislative changes liberalizing access to rising personal use and the emergence of psychedelic startups and NGOs, we're living in an era of a Psychedelic Renaissance | Medical Xpress, USA

Restoring control to a particular brain region may help to prevent return to use of opioids

A team of neuroscientists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has identified changes in the activity of brain cells known as pyramidal neurons, which contribute to drug seeking in a preclinical model of opioid use disorder. After access to heroin was stopped, these neurons became more excitable | Medical Xpress, USA

‘More acceptable now’: Medicinal cannabis use rising, passes 1 million patients

Medicinal cannabis use is booming, with more than 1 million people prescribed the drug since it was legalised in 2016. Last year, doctors prescribed the drug to 316,879 new patients, compared with 150,117 in 2021 and just 292 in 2018, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration | Age, Australia

Promotion of E-Cigarettes on TikTok and Regulatory Considerations

E-cigarettes are promoted extensively on TikTok and other social media platforms. Platform policies to restrict e-cigarette promotion seem insufficient and are poorly enforced. This paper aims to understand how e-cigarettes are being promoted on TikTok and provide insights into the effectiveness of current TikTok policies | IJERPH, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

How can we help more people access alcohol support services?

Welcome to our second blog in our Cost of Living series, where we are looking at the impact of the increased cost of living on people’s drinking habits | With You, UK

Is loneliness really as damaging to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day?

Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, recently warned that “being socially disconnected” has a similar effect on mortality as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. This statement was widely reported in the media, including in the Washington Post, the Times and the Daily Mail. But where does this “15 cigarettes a day” figure come from? | Conversation, UK