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Daily news - 9th July 2024 |
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UK news
New Labour government must reintroduce Tobacco and Vapes Bill in next parliamentary session
Open letter to the prime minister/secretary of state for health from health exprets, On behalf of 1409 doctors, academics, nurses, and other health professionals | BMJ, UK
Benefits of outdoors on mental health and substance use
Research by the University of Stirling and The Salvation Army has identified potential short and long-term benefits of accessing the outdoors for people experiencing mental health issues or using substances – with one participant describing the opportunity to get outdoors and take part in organised activities as “life changing”. | Salvation Army, UK
NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement - Expression of Interest form
Thank you for your interest in becoming involved in the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) group for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit (PRU) in Addiction. We are a team of researchers and people with living/lived experience of substance use and addictive behaviours. We aim to build a community of people who can help us conduct research to shape policy around gambling behaviours, smoking/nicotine, alcohol and drug use | NIHR, UK
FairChecks ambassador speaks of support received from Forward Trust after prison – and is now an employee
One of Forward Trust's much-valued staff members has participated in a new video campaign led by a leading justice reform charity | Forward Trust, UK
County drugs & weapons operation sees 1029 arrests
More than 1,000 arrests for drugs and weapon-related offences have been made during a crackdown on major and organised crime in Staffordshire | BBC, UK
International news
Prospective longitudinal relations among frequent social media use, nicotine vaping and experiencing internalizing mental health problems
[Open access] Among youth in the United States, frequent social media use appears to mediate the prospective association between experiencing internalizing mental health problems and using electronic nicotine delivery systems | Addiction, UK
The role of cities in promoting more just and effective drug policies
15 July 2024, 10:00 till 11:00 AM (CET). This webinar will address the important role of cities in forming progressive drug policies and discuss how cities can collaborate and push for positive change in cooperation with international partners and institutions | IDPC, UK
Reported Xylazine Use Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years Evaluated for Substance Use Treatment — United States, July 2022–September 2023
Among adults evaluated for substance use treatment and reporting past–30-day IMF or heroin use or IMF or heroin as their primary lifetime substance use problem, those also reporting xylazine use reported more past nonfatal overdoses, and higher percentages of persons who reported xylazine use reported other recent substance use and polysubstance use than did persons who did not report xylazine use | CDC, USA
Economic evaluation of the effect of needle and syringe programs on skin, soft tissue, and vascular infections in people who inject drugs: a microsimulation modelling approach
[Open access] When assessing needle exchanges, viral infections including HIV and hepatitis are most often studied, but Canada’s needle exchanges also contribute to reducing health service costs by preventing bacterial infections | Harm Reduction Journal, USA
Extended-Release 7-Day Injectable Buprenorphine for Patients With Minimal to Mild Opioid Withdrawal
Results of this study suggest that 7-day extended-release buprenorphine may be feasible in patients with opioid use disorder presenting with minimal to mild Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale scores (4-7), which could increase the number of patients receiving buprenorphine induction | JAMA Network Open, USA
Effect of a Smartphone App (S-Check) on Actual and Intended Help-Seeking and Motivation to Change Methamphetamine Use Among Adult Consumers of Methamphetamine in Australia: Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial
[Open access] Access to a phone app intended to motivate help-seeking was associated with twice as many methamphetamine users (most were injecting the stimulant) seeking professional help within four weeks. However, subject recruitment and retention shortfalls left the results short of statistical significance | JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, USA
Critical Dialogue and Capacity-Building Projects Reduced Alcohol and Substance Use in a Randomized Clinical Trial Among Formerly Incarcerated Men
[Open access] In the USA, in terms of substance use reductions mainly black former prisoners responded best to group sessions on strategies to mobilise communities to foster positive change and/or which explored how their health had been affected by environments characterised by racist, sexist, and classist ideologies | Substance Use and Misuse, USA
How Prison Smoking Bans Created a Health Crisis
When I first entered Washington State Department of Corrections custody in 1995, the currency was still cigarettes. In any cashless economy the cash has been replaced by something, and prisons usually have a fixed-value item that’s the obvious choice; ramen soups, for example. Stamps used to be a common one, and are banned in many prisons for this reason | Filter Magazine, USA
Australian researchers present potential new treatment option for nicotine addiction
Smokers seeking to conquer their addiction may have a new treatment option following the results from a clinical trial led by Monash University, which found a combination of varenicline and nicotine lozenges significantly improved smoking abstinence when compared with varenicline alone | Monash University, Australia
International Overdose Awareness Day Event Registration 2024
August 31 2024. International Overdose Awareness Day events are the main way this campaign makes a difference. By hosting an event, you are joining thousands of people across the world to end overdose, reduce stigma, remember those no longer with us and recognise the grief of the family and friends left behind. We ask that you take the time to register your event with us so that the campaign reaches as many people as possible | Penington Institute, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
The Trip Report 08/07
Through the work of organisations such as WEDINOS, The Loop, and SaferParty, we know a little more about the drugs in circulation. The report provided below is a summary of their findings over the last few weeks | The Trip Report, UK
Making the wine duty ‘easement’ permanent would negate the public health objective of the duty reform
The wine industry is lobbying hard – or “hell-bent” as the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) says – to retain a system where tax per unit of alcohol reduces as wine increases in strength. This goes directly against the objective of the alcohol duty reforms introduced in August 2023, and appears to be an attempt to alarm and confuse its members, policymakers, and the public | IAS blog, UK
Alcohol marketing regulations in Norway
Nils Garnes, the Head of policy and communications at IOGT Norway, writes about the success of alcohol marketing regulations in Norway and how these differ from those currently in place in the UK | SHAAP blog, UK