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Daily news - 2nd November 2023

UK news

Covid pandemic ‘had lasting impact’ on brain health of people aged 50 or over

The acceleration in cognitive decline has been exacerbated by a number of factors since the arrival of Covid, the researchers said. These included an increase in loneliness and depression, a fall in exercise and higher alcohol consumption, as well as the effects of the disease itself | Guardian, UK

Hard-hitting quit smoking campaign launches in Greater Manchester aiming to create a smokefree city-region

A new hard-hitting quit smoking campaign launches from Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, as part of wider ambitions to become a smokefree city-region by 2030 | Greater Manchester Integrated Care, UK

[Open access] Conceptualisations of the ‘patient journey’ are popular within health service research. Patient journeys provide a person-centred approach to health care that typically prioritise subjective patient experience with the aim of improving relevant forms of intervention. This article explores the conceptualisation of retention in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) using long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) as a journey | IJDP, UK

Flaws in our approach to drug and alcohol services

Part of The Big Life’s group work is to campaign for the commissioning of effective support services in the North West, including substance addiction support. Executive Director, Simon Kweeday, speaks candidly about the changes needed to the national approach to drug and alcohol services to truly help the people most impacted | Big Issue North, UK

'There's life after hell': How dance is helping people recover from addiction

From being unable to put down a drink to performing at the Royal Opera House, one woman's life has been transformed by a performing arts company that helps people recovering from addiction | ITV, UK

UK medical cannabis patients asked to complete new survey

A patient survey has been launched by the Cannabis Industry Council, to coincide with Medical Cannabis Awareness Week (1-7 November). Both current and former prescription cannabis patients can complete the survey here.
The survey results will better enable the Cannabis Industry Council to understand the challenges patients face, and to advocate for improved outcomes with industry and government | Volteface, UK

Prison for drugs gang who attempted to smuggle cocaine worth £11 million in bananas

Four members of an organised crime group have been jailed after attempting to smuggle 139 kilos of cocaine into the UK hidden in a consignment of bananas | NCA, UK

Illegal vape sellers targeted by test purchasers

Illegal vape sellers are set to be targeted by test purchasers and other covert methods in Reading | BBC, UK

Hidden chute found in Bradford shop selling fake cigarettes and laughing gas

A shop sold bogus cigarettes and laughing gas which were dropped via a hidden chute from a flat above | BBC, UK

International news

‘For God’s sake, do something’: Richard Branson urges NSW to act on drug reform

Exclusive: British billionaire says Minns Labor government must commit to timeframe for drug summit and ‘put people’s health first’ | Guardian, UK

Why the urban legend of contaminated Halloween candy won't disappear

Halloween is one of the most dangerous holidays of the year for kids. It has more child pedestrian deaths than any other day of the year. Kids also get tangled in their costumes and injure themselves. But there's something that isn't a real problem: strangers giving trick-or-treaters apples with razor blades, poisoned candy or drugs | npr, USA

Stigma felt by opioid-dependent moms can impact the health care received by their babies

The rate of opioid use among pregnant women in the United States quadrupled between 1999 and 2014 and continues to rise—an alarming trend that researchers from the University of Missouri and University of Iowa say has exposed the stigma felt by opioid-dependent mothers and how their shame has negatively impacted the health care received by their infants | Medical Xpress, USA

Medical cannabis study reveals patterns of cannabis use and consumption

As of April 2023, 38 states in the U.S. allow for the medical use of marijuana. Despite the increasing use of cannabis products for medical purposes, state programs do not currently have consistent guidelines for the use of the two most commonly used compounds—cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—being dispensed and consumed by patients | Medical Xpress, USA

A New Cannabis Compound Discovery Explains Its Distinctive Aromas

It's difficult to miss or mistake the distinctive smell of cannabis. Now scientists have discovered more about where the aroma comes from – and it's not, as had been thought, all down to the naturally occurring chemical compounds known as terpenes in the plant | Science Alert, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Should alcohol marketing be restricted? Scotland should follow other European countries in banning alcohol sports advertising

The Scottish Government recently undertook a public consultation on possible measures to restrict alcohol advertising and promotion... These proposals were welcomed by health campaigners (including Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, a coalition of the medical royal colleges and faculty of public health in Scotland which is hosted by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh) but vigorously opposed by the drinks industry and some sporting bodies. The government is currently analysing the consultation responses with a view to bringing forward concrete proposals within this parliamentary term. So what is the evidence? | Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, UK

SHAAP Lived Experience Spotlight

In this blog, John tells us of his experiences of a life-changing diagnosis in 2018, and the changes it led to in his own life. He also speaks about the changes he would like to see happen in Scotland to protect others from the harms caused by alcohol | SHAAP blog, UK

The Problem With Viewing Addiction As Inevitable

If someone uses drugs problematically, that doesn’t mean they are doomed to overdose or go mad. Telling yourself – or, worse, a loved one – that their use will inevitably lead to their death, insanity, or imprisonment can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. After all, why should someone bother to look after their physical or mental health if their fate is already certain, with no hope for change? Such thinking breeds unproductive pessimism and a fatalism around drugs that serve neither the individual nor society | Talking Drugs, UK

Like Matthew Perry, we’ve also experienced addiction — here’s what he’d want you to know

‘If I didn’t have alcohol to soothe my nerves and help me have fun, I would’ve leaped off a tall building sometime in my twenties,’ wrote Matthew Perry in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing | Metro, UK

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