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Daily news - 20th December 2024 |
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UK news
Experts urge health secretary to “stop the needless suffering” as alcohol deaths spiral
Public health groups have called on Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to make addressing alcohol harm a top priority in 2025. This follows alarming new statistics that show, in just the last four years, there has been a catastrophic 42% rise in deaths in England caused solely by alcohol. Such a devastating rise in death rate has never been seen before | AHA, UK
How to save a life: Emergency response to a drug overdose in prison, and harm reduction advice
RADAR (Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response), Scottish Prison Service and NHS Scotland have worked together to create this prison resource on how to respond to a drug overdose, and how to reduce the harm from drugs | Public Health Scotland, UK
Impact report: two years of RADAR
This document highlights the key achievements from the RADAR drugs early warning system in the two years since its launch in June 2022 | Public Health Scotland, UK
Dry January - Who's the BOSS? You are!
Double your chances of having a totally alcohol-free month with the free Try Dry® app for a total body and mind reset. From better sleep and a mental health boost, to saving money and time - there's a whole lot to gain from the Dry January® challenge | Alcohol Change UK, UK
Urgent drug warning about blue and yellow pills linked to deaths in Greater Manchester
Tests revealed both contained N-desethyl isotonitazene, from a group of synthetic opioids known as nitazenes | ITV, UK
Mother of 13-year-old child addicted to ketamine warns of manipulative drug dealers
A mother whose 13-year-old child is addicted to ketamine is warning something as simple as a "bad mood" has the potential to "push children into the arms" of drug dealers | ITV, UK
EMCAT Applauds ASA's Historic Action Against Misleading Addiction Treatment Advertising
The Ethical Marketing Campaign for Addiction Treatment (EMCAT) has strongly praised the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for its bold stance against unethical marketing within the addiction treatment referral sector. Seven recent rulings have exposed harmful and misleading practices that have been exploiting vulnerable individuals and severely undermining public trust | EMCAT, UK
City to host parade celebrating recovering addicts
Wolverhampton has been chosen to host its first parade to celebrate people recovering from addiction. In a public vote, thousands backed the city's bid for the 2025 Recovery Walk, to be held in West Park on 13 September | BBC, UK
The Forward Trust’s new Impact Report: A year of progress, innovation, and life-changing support
The Forward Trust are delighted to bring you our latest impact report, revealing some remarkable achievements over the past year. The report highlights our continued growth, expansion of services, and innovative initiatives that have empowered thousands of individuals across the UK | Forward Trust, UK
Rise in use of vape devices to start prison fires
Inmates have been using vaping devices to start fires in West Yorkshire prisons, a fire authority meeting has heard. There has been a 23% increase in the number of non-residential fires deliberately started in Leeds since April, with fires in prisons making up the bulk of the rise | BBC, UK
International news
The new science ending the ‘terror and panic’ of coming off long-term antidepressant use
‘Protracted withdrawal’ from the medication is not yet well-understood or recognised – but doctors and patients are looking to change that | Guardian, UK
Nineteen readers on their experience taking and withdrawing from antidepressants
Many people were given little information about potential side-effects from coming off medications and suffered withdrawal they describe as worse than the initial symptoms | Guardian, UK
New Zealand rushes vape restrictions through parliament
The New Zealand government has pushed tough new restrictions on vapes through parliament before Christmas under “urgency.” | Clearing the air, UK
Enhancing Outcomes in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: An Economic Evaluation of Improving Medication Adherence for Buprenorphine Through Blister-Packaging
[Open access] On the assumption that (as with other patients) packaging in blister packs improved the regularity of pill-taking, providing buprenorphine this way would substantially reduce health care costs associated with opioid dependence, estimates this US study – wonderfully simple if it works | Substance Abuse & Rehabilitation, USA
US Department of Justice alleges CVS facilitated unlawful sales, violating federal opioid regulations
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil complaint against CVS Pharmacy Inc., accusing the nation's largest pharmacy chain of unlawfully filling prescriptions for highly addictive opioids and violating federal health care laws | Medical Xpress, USA
A THC breathalyzer? Research could lead to reliable cannabis breath test
Law enforcement will be out in force this holiday season, with saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints on the lookout for impaired drivers. Yet 12 years after Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize recreational cannabis, police still lack a reliable method for detecting whether someone smoked a joint or ate a gummy recently and whether they are too impaired to drive | Medical Xpress, USA
Research sheds light on the ethical complexities in conducting Industry-funded cannabis studies
In the first study of its kind, research led by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) sheds light on the ethical complexities and systemic barriers facing scientists conducting cannabis research funded by the for-profit cannabis industry | News Medical, USA
International Overdose Awareness Day Partners’ Report
This report highlights the achievements of our 2024 campaign – with heartfelt thanks to you, our global community of supporters and partners. In this report, you’ll see how our joint efforts are having a real-world impact and helping shift the narrative around overdose prevention worldwide | Penington Institute, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
HIT Conference 2024: Resisting the State and Keeping Communities Alive
In a red brick bar, aptly named ‘Revolución de Cuba’, in Liverpool, the speakers of the HIT conference shared drinks and stories of the drugs revolution. I arrived at the point where rosy-cheeked conversations were shifting away from Foucault and slide notes towards discussions about the UK snus market and someone’s DIY shed museum | Talking Drugs, UK
Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, and it’s killing people
Drug overdose deaths in the US have finally begun to abate. Between June 2023 and June 2024, they fell by 14%. However, deaths from a drug used to sedate large animals, called carfentanil, rose by at least 720% between the first half of 2023 and the first half of 2024 | Conversation, UK