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Daily news - 7th November 2023

UK news

DDN November 2023

The campaign to inform people about potentially deadly nitazenes is an essential one (p6). But as well as vital information, we also want to share the efforts to work together across service boundaries to engage with people at risk. This ‘common responsibility’ led to a unified message by cutting through the noise of poor information. It’s so logical to involve people in making a plan that’s directly relevant to them; how often do we throw the information out there and assume that it’s hitting the target? | DDN, UK

Researchers call for better integration of mental health and alcohol services among minority ethnic groups

New research shows the association between alcohol use and mental health differs across minority ethnic groups, and provides insight into people’s reasons for drinking and the treatment that they have received | KCL, UK

Supporting solutions for South Asian women: Developing models for alcohol support

This study focussed on the lived experiences of South Asian (SA) women who use(d) alcohol (and other drugs), exploring their trajectories into problematic use, and their engagement with support | Alcohol Change UK, UK

Emergency Access Naloxone Scheme

I am sure that members across the chamber will join me in welcoming the emergency access naloxone scheme that is beginning this week. It will see access to potentially life-saving naloxone kits, which can reverse the effects of opioid overdose, being expanded to include community pharmacies right across Scotland. Can the First Minister say any more about how that will complement the Scottish Government’s on-going work to widen access to naloxone as part of the national mission to reduce drug deaths? | They work for you, UK

[Open access] Theories of practice can support understanding of health-related behaviours, but few studies use quantitative methods to understand time-trends in practices. This paper describes changes in the prevalence and performance of alcohol drinking practices in Great Britain between 2009 and 2019 | SSM, UK

Alcohol Alert podcast - October 2023

In this month's podcast we spoke to a number of the attendees at the 7th Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Cape Town, including Prof David Jernigan of Boston University, Prof Charles Parry of the , Alison Douglas and Nicola Merrin of Alcohol Focus Scotland, Chris Smith of Open Philanthropy, and Juan Tello of the World Health Organization. We asked them what they had found most enlightening during the three days, as well as what they hoped people would take away from the conference | IAS, UK

Wayne Rooney talks of alcohol struggles in new Rob Burrow podcast

Ex-England captain Wayne Rooney has opened up to Rob Burrow about his toxic relationship with alcohol in the early days of his footballing career | BBC, UK

'There is a way out': Pete Doherty's addiction battle and road to recovery charted in new film

The bad boy of British rock in the nineties and noughties, Libertines and Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty’s meteoric rise and dramatic fall into drug addiction and crime was well documented in tabloid headlines | ITV, UK

Bristol: Transforming Drug Policy

Thursday, November 16 · 6:30 - 8:30pm GMT. Come along to learn about the impact of drugs in Bristol and how the city is innovating around policy to help better protect our community. Join the discussion about how Bristol is transforming our approach to drugs and what this means for the city | J Slater, UK

Alcohol Occasionals 2024 – Call for research proposals

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and the Scottish Alcohol Research Network (SARN) invite researchers to submit their research proposals for the 2024 SHAAP/SARN Alcohol Occasionals series | SHAAP, UK

UK Recovery Walk 2024

Are you interested in putting a bid to host the UK Recovery Walk in 2024? Please submit your note of interest by November 30th, with your final bid application in by 20th December 2023 | FAVOR, UK

Drugs hidden in coffee bags seized at airport

A man has been arrested after a parcel containing ketamine - potentially worth £200,000 - was intercepted by airport Border Force officers | BBC, UK

Drug dealer jailed after 20 people overdosed

Heroin containing a synthetic opioid that was supplied by a drug dealer may have led to 20 overdoses, police believe | BBC, UK

Arrest after laughing gas found in car boot

A man has been arrested after boxes of laughing gas canisters were found inside a car boot | BBC, UK

Drone helps uncover £50k cannabis farm at house in Middlesbrough

A cannabis farm with a street value of about £50,000 was discovered at a house by police with the help of a drone | BBC, UK

International news

Why 'Following the Money' Isn't Enough to Stop Organised Crime Anymore

Drug traffickers are increasingly using specialist underground networks to hide their money, meaning police have to find other ways to catch gangsters | VICE, UK

As billions roll in to fight the US opioid epidemic, one county shows how recovery can work

Legal settlements could provide local and state governments $50 billion to fight the deadly U.S. opioid overdose crisis | Independent, UK

Public drunkenness is no longer a crime in Victoria. Why did this change on Melbourne Cup Day and how will it work?

Unlike other states, Victoria is not replacing the offence with new powers for police, instead using a ‘health-based response’ | Guardian, UK

Fermented coconut and cashew fruit: the ancient spirits fuelling India’s craft alcohol boom

Recently, homegrown spirits have sprung up in abundance, changing the palates of young Indian drinkers and garnering international acclaim | Guardian, UK

Government should consider alcohol industry levy for harm caused by drink, says Dáil committee

Alcohol-associated harms cost the State €3.7bn a year and a special statutory authority should be set up to deal with reducing the negative impacts of alcohol on society | Irish Independent, Ireland

Narco Files: The new Criminal Order

This project was sparked by an unprecedented leak of emails from Colombia's prosecutor’s office. OCCRP, the Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP), Vorágine, and Cerosetenta / 070 gained early access to the data, which they then shared with more than 40 other media outlets. Journalists from over 23 countries worked on the investigation, chiefly in Latin America but also in Europe and the United States. Using leads found in the leaked data, reporters produced dozens of stories revealing the myriad ways in which organized crime groups are evolving, expanding, and experimenting in the modern world — while leaving new victims along the way | OCCRP, The Netherlands

Leaving poppy behind – permanently: how the findings from UNODC’s new Afghan opium survey could affect vulnerable populations

As shown by the new 2023 UNODC Afghan opium survey, opium cultivation in Afghanistan has plummeted 95 per cent since the Taliban’s ruling took effect. Suddenly, poppy farmers everywhere – many of whom had turned to poppy cultivation out of desperation in the first place – were pushed back into poverty | UNODC, Austria

WHO lobbies EU lawmakers against watering down alcohol cancer risk

The World Health Organisation (WHO) sent a letter –obtained exclusively by Euractiv– to MEPs ahead of a crucial European Parliament’s vote expressing increasing concern on the state of play of the EU’s flagship Beating Cancer plan due to “scientifically inaccurate and worrisome” wording on alcohol use | EurActiv, Belgium

Prediabetes and persistent tobacco use may triple risk of stroke in healthy young adults

The combination of persistent tobacco use and prediabetes (higher than normal blood sugar levels that may progress to type 2 diabetes) triples the risk of stroke in young adults who do not have other cardiovascular risk factors, according to a preliminary study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2023 held Nov. 11–13, in Philadelphia | Medical Xpress, USA

Marijuana use linked with increased risk of heart attack, heart failure

Using marijuana regularly may raise the risk for heart failure, stroke or heart attack even after accounting for other cardiovascular risk factors such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, according to two preliminary studies to be presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2023 | Medical Xpress, USA

Matthew Perry's public struggle with addiction helped alleviate stigma, experts say

This stigma can make it difficult for people to seek treatment, Bauer says. Misinformation around addiction also perpetuates this stigma, making voices like Perry's even more vital, says Kaitlyn McCreedy, a Northeastern Ph.D. student and research lead at the university's Action Lab at the Center for Health Policy and Law | Medical Xpress, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Belonging – a help and hindrance to managing your drinking?

Our Research and Policy Manager delves into the findings of our New Horizons projects and finds a common thread through all of them – the concept of belonging | Alcohol Change UK blog, UK

How Britain gave up smoking

When the Labour government of Tony Blair banned smoking in enclosed public spaces, it was completing an agenda that had been outlined 20 years earlier, in an episode of the sitcom Yes, Prime Minister: “A complete ban on all cigarette sponsorship and advertising, even at the point of sale | UnHerd, UK

There’s a real risk that harm reduction could be a fad

Harm reduction is having its moment in America. The doors of drug-related harm reduction have swung wide open after years of federal funding bans. Extensive opioid settlement payouts combined with an urgency to address the overdose crisis have allowed for harm reduction approaches to catch on like wildfire | STAT News opinion, USA

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