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Daily news - 10th July 2024 |
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UK news
Cancers caused by smoking reach all time high
The number of cancer cases caused by smoking in the UK has reached an all-time high of 160 cases every day, new analysis from Cancer Research UK shows. The number of cases has increased by 17% since 2003, meaning over 20 additional people a day are being diagnosed with cancer caused by smoking compared to 20 years ago | Cancer Research UK, UK
National benchmarking report on implementation of the medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards
This report provides an assessment of progress on implementation of medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards 1–10 as of April 2024 across all 29 Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) areas. It does not report directly on outcomes, but recommends actions to address gaps | Public Health Scotland, UK
NHS stop smoking services quarterly
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on NHS Stop Smoking Services in Scotland and their progress towards their annual Local Delivery Plan (LDP) Standard. The LDP Standard for NHS Scotland in 2023/24 is to achieve at least 7,026 self-reported successful twelve-week quits through smoking cessation services in the 40% most deprived areas (60% in NHS Island Boards) | Public Health Scotland, UK
Public alcohol ban comes into force across borough
The public space protection order (PSPO) was introduced in Slough, Berkshire, on Friday. It makes it illegal to consume alcohol in public, or be in possession of an open container that is "reasonably believed" to contain alcohol, according to the borough council | BBC, UK
TRNSMT festival fans face ban on single-use vapes
Scotland's biggest music festival will search fans for single-use vapes as part of a push to improve sustainability | BBC, UK
Woman jailed for dropping drugs into prisons via drone
A woman has been jailed for her "pivotal role" in a gang that dropped more than £1m of drugs and contraband into UK prisons via drone | BBC, UK
Football fan given five-year match ban over drugs
A man has been banned from attending football matches for five years after he was found in possession of drugs at a Shrewsbury Town FC game | BBC, UK
International news
How decriminalisation made Vancouver the fentanyl capital of the world
[Appears to be open access] The city is gripped in an opioid crisis worse than America’s. Locals say overly liberal drug laws have sparked a catastrophe | Telegraph, UK
Love Island star faces jail after being caught trafficking cocaine in £53m drug smuggling operation
Magdalena Sadlo was caught trafficking cocaine into London’s Heathrow Airport from Dubai | Independent, UK
Oireachtas Drugs Committee hears Canadian province reversed trial decriminalising possession of drugs for personal use just 15 months after introducing it
Authorities in British Columbia, which has a similar population to Ireland, took the step because of “unaddressed and unintended impacts on community safety and well-being” | Irish Examiner, Ireland
First meeting of the EUDA Management Board
From 4–5 July, the EUDA is hosting its inaugural Management Board meeting, chaired by Dr Franz Pietsch (Austria). This closed event will bring together for the first time the formally nominated Board members to take key institutional decisions linked to the new EUDA regulation | EUDA, Portugal
Eurojust annual report 2023 (PDF)
Drug trafficking was once again one of the top two crime types dealt with by the Agency in 2023. Eurojust handled almost 2 500 cases, of which just under half were new cases opened in 2023 and just over half were ongoing cases from previous years. The number of drug trafficking cases addressed by the Agency continues to increase, with more than double the number of cases registered in 2023 compared to 2020 | Eurojust, The Netherlands
How may cannabis affect neurodevelopment when exposed in the womb?
In a recent study published in Nature Mental Health, researchers investigated whether prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) is related to variations in brain development, which may partially mitigate the relationship between PCE and increased psychopathology throughout early adolescence | News Medical, USA
E-cigarette use linked to lower use of lung cancer screening
Qian Wang, M.D., M.P.H., from the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, and colleagues examined the association between e-cigarette use and LCS uptake in a cross-sectional study | Medical Xpress, USA
I.D. please. Should kids be able to buy nonalcoholic beer, wine and mocktails?
Darryl Collins owns a zero-proof bottle shop called Hopscotch in Baltimore, Md., selling over 200 options of nonalcoholic spirits, beer, wine and canned cocktails | NPR, USA
New York City targets hundreds of illegal marijuana stores - video
New York City officials are contending with a surge of illegal marijuana shops that have appeared on nearly every corner of the Big Apple due to cannabis legalization. Aron Ranen reports | VOA, USA
My Old Doctor Gave Me Methadone. Being Forced Into a Clinic Ruined It
Ilost my leg in a car accident when I was 15. A little while after, I started having pain from nerve damage. I was prescribed oxycodone. Very quickly, and unlike the large majority of people prescribed opioids, I became addicted, using oxy to treat my mental as well as physical pain | Filter Magazine, USA
The absence of mandatory pregnancy warning labels in online alcohol purchasing contexts
Introduced in Australia and New Zealand in 2020, by 2023 the warnings stipulated by a law requiring alcohol packaging to warn about drinking during pregnancy were almost completely absent from major alcohol retailers’ websites, so could not directly affect the growing online sales market | DAR, USA
Alcohol and other drug use is common — but most Australians don't know how to help their loved ones
A new Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) survey found that, like Denise, most people worried about a loved one's alcohol or drug use didn't know the best way to help them | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
DSM Foundation responds to the 2024 general election results
Appropriately enough, on Thursday last week we were busy delivering drug education in a school that also served as a polling station. Meanwhile, across the land, votes were cast that elected our new government. Here is our response | DSM Foundation, UK
Alcohol and the heart: friend or foe?
For many of us, a beer after work is an enjoyable way to relax. And though drinking alcohol comes with known health risks, some data suggest that low to moderate drinking may actually decrease the risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) – also called coronary heart disease – defined by reduced blood flow to the heart, typically due to narrowed coronary arteries | IAS blog, UK
Is Drug Addiction A Racist Concept?
The idea that people who use drugs are ‘out of control’ or ‘can’t control themselves’ is a well-established part of both popular and medical understandings of addiction. But where does this idea come from? It may come as a surprise that the way we think about addiction today is rooted in structurally racist approaches to drugs and those who use them | Talking Drugs, UK
Writing and publishing tips
Jean O’Reilly answers some questions to help demystify ‘publicity in academic publishing’. Jean is Editorial Manager for Addiction journal and her role includes commissioning book reviews, editing abstracts, and writing press releases | SSA, UK