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Daily news - 31st May 2023 |
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UK news
Chief Medical Officer for England on vaping
Professor Sir Chris Whitty writes for The Times that marketing vapes to children is unacceptable - they should only have a role in helping smokers quit | DHSC, UK
UK ministers may take ‘further steps’ on vaping to deter sales to children
Tighter rules could demand plain packaging and ban colourful branding and sweet names | Guardian, UK
Quitters’ aid or addiction risk? Growing debate over vape regulation
Concern over children vaping is dismissed by one expert as ‘voice of moralists’ while others say there need to be stricter rules | Guardian, UK
Young people harmed by nitrous oxide use most likely to be Asian men – study
Study of patients in England with neurological damage related to laughing gas finds group overrepresented | Guardian, UK
Nitrous oxide-induced myeloneuropathy: a case series
Preventable neurological harm from N2O abuse is increasingly seen worldwide. Ease of access to canisters and larger cylinders of N2O has led to an apparent rise in cases of N2O-myeloneuropathy in several areas of the UK. Our results highlight the range of clinical manifestations in a large group of patients to improve awareness of risk, aid early recognition, and promote timely treatment | Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, UK
Estimated numbers of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy in Scotland
In the 12 month period ending 31 December 2022 (the end of 2022/23 Q3), Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) was prescribed to an estimated minimum of 29,305 people in Scotland. In the 12 month period to the end of the previous financial year quarter (2022/23 Q2) an estimated minimum of 29,405 people were prescribed OST | Public Health Scotland, UK
House and Home - podcast
The latest episode of the More Than My Past podcast explores the impact that housing has on one’s ability to break a cycle of addiction or crime and build a more positive life. Both a lack of certainty regarding having a reliable bed for the night or that reliable bed being in the wrong environment, can stand in the way of someone being able to turn their life around. Hosts, Julie and Jason chat to a range of guests on everything from the challenges of living opposite your drug dealer, to the need to ban all Friday releases from Prison | More Than My Past, UK
London Drugs Commission Survey 2023
Thank you for your interest in contributing to the work of the London Drugs Commission. The views and experiences of Londoners regarding cannabis and the laws which govern its use are an important element of the Commission’s considerations. This survey seeks to hear your views and experiences of cannabis in your area | London Voice, UK
Why We’re Joining The Not My Child Campaign
We’re delighted to announce that we are partaking in the Not My Child campaign, which is spearheaded by the brave and brilliant Kerry Roberts. The campaign, which started in October, is in memory of Kerry’s daughter Leah, who tragically died after taking two bombs of MDMA, at the age of just 15. Kerry’s belief is that her daughter would still be alive today if she had been provided even the most basic drug education | Cranstoun, UK
Adam Peaty: Olympic swimming champion opens up about struggles with depression and alcohol - video
Adam Peaty says depression is like living with a 'devil on your shoulder' as he reveals the steps he's taken to try combat his mental health issues and struggles with alcohol | BBC, UK
ArrDee: Alcohol adverts featuring rapper banned by watchdog
Two adverts for alcohol brand Litty Liquor have been banned for encouraging excessive and irresponsible drinking. Instagram posts from the Litty Liquor account in December featured photos of the rapper ArrDee tasting rum and drinking with friends in a nightclub | BBC, UK
International news
Vaping 'the revenge of tobacco industry' - Martin
Banning sales of e-cigarettes to under-18s will help improve young people's lives, the tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) has said. Micheál Martin described vaping as "very dangerous, particularly for young people", Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports | BBC, UK
‘I yelled, “I’m putting this up your nose”’: what it’s like to use Narcan
Four people on using the nostril-based antidote to opioid overdoses, newly approved for over-the-counter sale | Guardian, UK
Prince Harry: US court to hear challenge over Duke of Sussex's visa following drug revelations
The Heritage Foundation is trying to discover if the revelations in the Duke of Sussex's memoirs Spare were documented in his visa application | Sky News, UK
Harris recommends cabinet not oppose drink spiking bill but says further consideration needed
A maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment could be applied under the Bill | Journal, Ireland
What’s in the bottle: Ireland leads the way as the first country in the EU to introduce comprehensive health labelling of alcohol products
Health information on alcohol products allows consumers to make informed choices about the risks of consuming alcohol. Ireland is the first country in the European Union (EU) to ensure that, from 2026, all alcohol products will have comprehensive labelling about health risks from consumption, including warnings about the risks of developing cancers | WHO, Switzerland
Activists build a pop-up drug consumption room in Helsinki to protest against the Finnish government’s inaction on the issue
Protesting against the lack of efforts on the part of the City of Helsinki to take action on a project that was proposed back in 2019, which called for the establishment of a pilot drug consumption room, on May 24 a group of activists and volunteers built a pop-up drug consumption room in a tent in the middle of the capital | Correlation Net, The Netherlands
ASHES, Vol. 19(6) - Smoking perceptions: Hong Kong smokers with chronic disease
This week, as part of the Special Series on Asian American/Pacific Islander Addiction Research, ASHES reviews a study by Laurie Long Kwan Ho and colleagues that examined perceptions of smoking and smoking cessation among people with chronic diseases in Hong Kong, where a high rate of chronic diseases and an aging population create heavy public health burdens | BASIS, USA
With fentanyl deaths soaring, L.A. County is giving out drug pipes and other supplies
By a line of ragged RVs slung along 78th Street in South Los Angeles, a seven-member team passes out glass pipes used for smoking opioids, crack and methamphetamine | LA Times, USA
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill To Legalize Recreational Marijuana
The state's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Tuesday that legalizes recreational marijuana for people over the age of 21 | Huffington Post, USA
Ketamine nasal spray may a prove safe and effective treatment for refractory migraine
Ketamine taken in the form of a nasal spray may prove a safe and effective treatment for refractory chronic migraine, suggests a single center study, published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine | Medical Xpress, USA
RACGP calls for action on Big Alcohol
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has slammed Big Alcohol’s submissions informing government health strategy and called on the Albanese Government to stand up to the industry to put community safety and wellbeing first. It comes following reports of researchpublished in the Drug and Alcohol Review journal concerning the reliability of evidence used in documents designed to shape public policy. The authors examined submissions filed by Big Alcohol as part of the National Alcohol Strategy 2019–2028 consultation strategy | RACGP, Australia
Mental and physical health and service access among people in Sydney who use illicit drugs, 2022
The Ecstasy and related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) and Illicit Drugs reporting System (IDRS) are national drug monitoring systems intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets and form part of Drug Trends. This bulletin examines health (mental and physical) and health service access among two samples of people who use illicit drugs: people who inject drugs, and people who use ecstasy and/or other illicit stimulants | NDARC, Australia
Vaping: results are in
Tests on popular vapes have revealed staggering amounts of nicotine plus chemicals including arsenic and formaldehyde | Queensland Government, Australia
'He didn't want to die': How Pam's son unknowingly took a drug that killed him
Fentanyl overdose deaths have spiked in Canada and the US, particularly among young people. In Vancouver, radical experiments are underway to prevent them | SBS News, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
ASH Response to the Government announcement on youth vaping
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH said: “We welcome Government action on youth vaping, but the PM’s proposals are baby steps not the tough action that’s needed. Tough action which would have happened already if the Government had accepted backbench amendments on vaping to the 2021 Health & Social Care Bill... | ASH, UK
Ireland brings into law the world’s first comprehensive health labelling of alcohol products
As someone who has spent much of the last decade of my professional time advocating for these changes both in, and outside of government, I cannot really express how pleased I am with this major development by Ireland’s Minister for Health. By commencing these regulations another measure within the historic Public Health Alcohol Act of 2018 becomes operational | IAS blog, UK
Improving Health and Drug Service Access for Indigenous People in Australia
Accessing health care services is a key part of the universal right to health. This access can be a considerable challenge, especially in rural and regional areas where fewer health services mean people often have long distances to travel | Talking Drugs, UK