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Daily news - 3rd December 2024 |
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UK news
Drink and Drugs News - December 2024/January 2025
We’re familiar with the devastating effect cocaine can have on lives. What’s interesting is the cultural normalisation that’s contributing to the statistics (p6). If drug use starts in a safe setting and escalates, at what point is intervention relevant – or possible? Using it as a way to avoid drinking too much...is a twist on harm reduction that we may not have contemplated, but it’s risky. The two substances combine to form toxic cocaethylene, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke – but who’s familiar with that? It’s complicated, but we need to look at the stats and focus on an effective response – cocaine-related deaths increased by a third last year. As we look back on the year we’re grateful for inspirational partnerships and individuals who tackle obstacles at full tilt and don’t take ‘go slow’ for an answer. Keep going – we’re right there with you! | DDN, UK
New poll reveals toll of addiction across the UK
As Addiction Awareness Week 2024 begins, we commissioned research into the scale of dependency in the UK. On our behalf, Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,139 UK adults aged 16 to 75. Just over one in 10 (11%) had experienced addiction to alcohol, drugs, medication, or gambling at some point in their lives | Forward Trust, UK
Research Briefing - Misuse of drugs: regulation and enforcement
This briefing outlines current UK legislation to control drugs, the enforcement of drug laws and calls for reform to the classification of drugs in the UK | House of Commons Library, UK
AFS Scottish Budget Briefing Published
Ahead of the draft Scottish Budget on Wednesday 4th December, Alcohol Focus Scotland has published a new briefing which has been sent to MSPs. Highlighting the scale of the ongoing alcohol emergency, the briefing calls for increased investment in alcohol treatment - as well as the introduction of a public health supplement on alcohol retailers to used to fund preventative interventions that help people before they reach a crisis point. For example, funds could be used to improve the early identification of alcohol-related liver disease | AFS, UK
Calls to restore funding in Budget to tackle alcohol-related problems
Scottish Health Action On Alcohol Problems (Shaap) has called for alcohol funding to be restored stating that, while the problem of alcohol-related heath issues is growing, funding has been cut by 8% in two years | STV News, UK
National Drugs Mission Oversight Group minutes: September 2024
Minutes from the meeting of the group on 19/09/2024. The Chair reiterated the focus of the meeting would be to look at the NRS Drug Deaths Statistics for 2023, the PHS National Benchmarking Report on MAT Standards, the SDF Observational Peer Research report on MAT standard implementation and then finish with a Deep Dive on the Scottish Governments National Specification proposal | Scottish Government, UK
Police drop drug-testing probe over lack of funds
A multi-million pound investigation into the suspected manipulation of data at two forensic science drug-testing companies has been dropped | BBC, UK
Typhoo Tea to be rescued by vape maker for £10m
Typhoo Tea has been rescued by vape maker Supreme in a £10m deal which it said would keep the brand "in British hands" | BBC, UK
International news
Anti-opioid groups are ‘optimistic’ about Trump’s tariffs. Will the move help tackle the fentanyl crisis?
Campaigners say imposing fee on Mexico, Canada and China till they address drug smuggling could be effective | Guardian, UK
Redefining hospitality: the Kentucky hotel tackling America’s homeless crisis
A group of housing advocates took over the Arthur Street Hotel – with a focus on housing first and treatment later | Guardian, UK
Australian police seize $500m of cocaine after boat breaks down
Eleven men and two juveniles were arrested, including the vessel's crew and others waiting on the shore to collect the illegal shipment. The drugs had an estimated street value of A$760m ($490m; £388m), with the potential to be distributed across 11.7 million separate street deals - making it the largest cocaine bust in Australian history | BBC, UK
EU countries to push for outdoor smoking and vaping bans
EU countries are poised to push for stricter anti-smoking rules on Tuesday, backing bans on smoking and vaping in many outdoor areas including playgrounds and cafe patios | France24, France
Supreme Court hears fight over FDA's refusal to approve flavored vapes
As e-cigarettes have flooded the market, the FDA's role in approving new tobacco products is put under a microscope | nbc news, USA
Alcohol use disorder, alcohol-associated liver disease up in older U.S. adults
The prevalence of and mortality from alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) increased among older U.S. adults, according to a study presented at The Liver Meeting, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, held from Nov. 15 to 19 in San Diego | Medical Xpress, USA
Predictors of Participation in Prenatal Substance Use Assessment, Counseling, and Treatment Among Pregnant Individuals in Prenatal Settings Who Use Cannabis
[Open access] Assessment and counseling are recommended for individuals with prenatal cannabis use. We examined characteristics that predict prenatal substance use assessment and counseling among individuals who screened positive for prenatal cannabis use in prenatal settings | Journal of Addiction Medicine, USA
Repurposing Semaglutide and Liraglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder
[Open access] While being prescribed some anti-obesity medications, adults with alcohol use disorders in Sweden were much less likely to have to be hospitalised due to their substance use – and the reduction was greater than that associated with conventional medications for alcohol dependence | JAMA Psychiatry, USA
Smartphone App–Based Contingency Management and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Outcomes
In this cohort study of 600 individuals treated for opioid use disorder, those who chose to use app-based contingency management with MOUD reported fewer days of opioid use at the end of treatment and stayed in treatment longer than those who chose to only use MOUD | JAMA Network Open, USA
Boosting endocannabinoids could reduce opioid addiction risk
Increasing the levels of chemicals naturally produced in the body called endocannabinoids may thwart the highly addictive nature of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone while maintaining the drugs' ability to relieve pain, according to Weill Cornell Medicine investigators working with researchers from The Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian | News Medical, USA
'I don't feel your pain': How alcohol increases aggression
Researchers found that the less pain that study participants felt after drinking an alcoholic beverage, the more pain they were willing to inflict on someone else | Medical Xpress, USA
Extending the reach of involuntary treatment to substance use disorders: Is it ‘compassionate’ or coercive care?
[Open access] Forcing at-risk substance users into treatment ‘for their own good’ might be presented as the caring thing to do, but “others question ... effectiveness, as well as the potential infringements on personal autonomy and the ethical standards such practices entail.” | Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Australia
Drug Trends output: Trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets, October 2023 - September 2024
Drug Trends has identified, crawled (or ‘scraped’), extracted, categorised and analysed drug listings on cryptomarkets on a regular basis since 1st February 2014. This bulletin series reports on trends in the availability and types of drugs sold on the internet via cryptomarkets over a 12-month period. The current bulletin focuses on analysis of drug listings on cryptomarkets from October 2023 to September 2024 | NDARC, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Harry’s blog 124: Giving a voice to the voiceless
Imagine the outcome if your local park football team took on Real Madrid. This is equivalent to the challenge faced by tobacco harm reduction consumer activists trying to take on the well-funded and well-organised global cartel opposing the use of safer nicotine products. Consumers are shut out of the international debate and denied a seat at the table while their lived experiences are ignored or dismissed as utterances in the service of Big Tobacco | NSP blog, UK
How big tobacco firms are using e-cigarettes to try to improve their image
The global tobacco industry is still big business, worth around £730 billion a year. This may seem strange for a product known to have caused more than 200 million deaths in the last 30 years | Conversation, UK