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Daily news - 12th April 2024 |
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UK news
NHS scales up ‘one-hour’ hep C tests
NHS England is investing £4.2m to buy 25 FibroScan machines to be used in settings and facilities where there are potential hepatitis C patients, including drug and alcohol services, clinical outreach vans and special testing events at GP practices | DDN, UK
Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA): programme data
A summary of the activity of the Drug Testing on Arrest (DToA) programme since its launch in March 2022. Updated to correct the totals in table 5 and the number of test results not stated for March 2023 in table 3 | Home Office, UK
Boris Johnson calls Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban ‘absolutely nuts’
Former PM laments state of Tory party saying it is ‘mad’ that party of Winston Churchill is ‘banning cigars’ | Guardian, UK
95% of illegal vape sellers go unpunished, according to new data
New data shows illegal vapes were seized from nearly 3,000 unscrupulous sellers in 2023 across the UK, but only 1 in 20 were issued fines | Talking Retail, UK
Concern over vape shops which also sell toys
A shop in Grimsby which sells sweets and toys alongside vapes is causing concern among some parents | BBC, UK
Illegal vapes seized after shop sells to girl
A test purchasing operation was recently conducted in Fleetwood by Wyre Police’s licensing team and Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards service | BBC, UK
Pressure grows on government over rough sleeping clampdown
Home Secretary James Cleverly is coming under increasing pressure to rethink plans to clamp down on "nuisance" rough sleeping in England and Wales | BBC, UK
International news
Menthol cigarettes are killing Black Americans. Advocates are suing the government to change that
A deadline for the White House to review a proposal to ban the extra-addictive cigarettes expired last month with no action | Guardian, UK
Avallon Mayor Jamilah Habsaoui detained after cannabis haul found in home
The mayor of a small French town in central-eastern France has been detained after police said 70kg (154lb) of cannabis was found in her home | BBC, UK
The prevalence of substance use disorders among people in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prisons: A multi-national cohort study, 2010–19
[Open access] We estimated the prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) in the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish prison populations and compared the prevalence of SUDs in the national prison populations with country-specific general population prevalence rates | Addiction, UK
‘It’s the thing we argue about the most’: Can a drinker date a non-drinker?
As new research finds that couples with similar drinking habits have better relationships, Olivia Petter examines the consequences of having a different relationship to alcohol than your partner | Independent, UK
New drugs minister facing calls to prioritise delivery of new elective hospital and a supervised injection facility in his native Cork city
There was a cross-party welcome in the city to the appointment of Colm Burke as Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Amid a drugs epidemic in Ireland - The new minister talks about tackling the problem - podcast
Addiction counsellors across the country have been reporting a dramatic increase in those seeking help for drug addiction causing devastation to many. Pauline McKeown chief executive of the Coolmine Treatment centre and Colm Burke appointed Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy | RTe, Ireland
Fact-check: Will smoking keep you thin?
The worry of gaining weight is a common excuse for smokers not to quit. The Cube takes a look at a new study which found that both starting smoking and liftetime smoking may increase abdominal fat | Euronews, Belgium
CBP Announces Next Phase in Fight Targeting Criminals Funneling Fentanyl into American Communities
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced that it will lead an expanded, multi-agency effort to target the transnational criminals funneling fentanyl from Mexico into American communities. Operation Plaza Spike targets the cartels that facilitate the flow of deadly fentanyl, as well as its analogs and precursors and tools to make the drugs. It is designed to disrupt operations in the “plazas,” cartel territories located directly south of the United States that are natural logistical chokepoints within the cartels’ operations | CBP, USA
Q&A: Can weight loss drugs help in addiction treatment?
In recent years, the popularity of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has skyrocketed. While this new class of drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, are approved for use in diabetes and for weight loss, researchers have found that they might help with other conditions too, like cardiovascular disease and addiction | Medical Xpress, USA
Study finds alcohol ED presentations increasing among older New Zealanders
Findings from a new University of Otago, Christchurch, study suggest alcohol harm is becoming more prevalent among older New Zealanders but less so for youth, with alcohol-related presentations placing a significant but preventable burden on the motu’s over-stretched hospital emergency departments | University of Otago, New Zealand
Blogs, comment and opinion
Lessons in collaboration, co-design, and co-production
SSA-funded PhD student, Alice Bowen, writes about what she learned from developing a recovery app with addiction researchers and people with lived experience of substance use and recovery | SSA blog, UK
Back to Black: Amy Winehouse biopic reviewed by an alcohol expert
Back to Black is a new biopic about the life of musician Amy Winehouse. It covers the time from when she gets her record deal aged 18, until her tragic death from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27 | Conversation, UK
Ecuador: raid on Mexican embassy draws international criticism – but President Noboa hopes voters approve
Ecuador’s security forces recently conducted a raid on the Mexican embassy in the country’s capital city, Quito. The arrest and subsequent detention of fugitive former vice-president Jorge Glas has sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries and ignited a heated debate over Ecuador’s commitment to international law and diplomacy. Against the backdrop of rampant narco-terrorism and escalating regional tensions, concerns have been raised about Ecuador’s respect for these fundamental principles | Conversation, South Africa