Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 12th July 2024 |
 |
UK news
Opioids, the leading factor in drug-related deaths in Wales
Latest figures from Public Health Wales show that opioids contributed to more deaths in Wales in 2022-23, than any other substance. There were 125 opioid deaths, 64 involving heroin or morphine and the remaining 61 deaths involved at least one other opioid such as methadone, codeine or tramadol. However, more people than ever before are carrying naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of opioid poisoning. Naloxone was used in 303 overdose events in Wales last year, helping to prevent many deaths | Public Health Wales, UK
What was Rishi Sunak's smoking ban bill, who opposed it, and what happens next?
Health experts write to Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, urging them to reinstate the ‘once-in-a-generation’ Tobacco and Vapes Bill | Standard, UK
The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Wales) Regulations 2024: submit your views
Following a UK wide consultation, the Welsh Government announced that it proposes to ban single-use vapes in Wales from 1 April 2025. Reusable vapes will be unaffected by this change. Our aim is to reduce the environmental damage caused by the use and disposal of single-use vapes and encourage people to use reusable alternatives | Welsh Government, UK
Smashing stigma to save lives in Scotland
Drawing from personal and professional perspectives, the Head of Policy, Practice and Communication at membership charity Scottish Drug Forum shared that stigma permeates across attitudes, relationships and services – influencing how people access or engage with support | Healthandcare.scot, UK
What happened to UK's first ketamine-assisted clinic?
The Awakn clinic was billed as "an entirely new paradigm for mental health, where we are moving from palliative care towards permanent cure", by the centre's leaders. But less than four years later, the Bristol clinic has shut down | BBC, UK
Top school to start testing pupils' urine for drugs
A top state secondary school and sixth form is set to begin drug testing students as part of a new safeguarding policy | BBC, UK
Calls to make 'cuckooing' a crime as cases increase
The Catalyst Support charity, in Guildford, said there has been a rise in cuckooing across the county | BBC, UK
Thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes seized
Trading Standards officers from the city council and Staffordshire County Council recovered 25,000 cigarettes, 2,350 vapes and 7.5kg of tobacco from five stores on Wednesday | BBC, UK
Drug dealer will have to sell plane to repay debts
A convicted drug dealer and money launderer who killed a veterinary nurse in a crash must sell his assets to repay money he made illegally | BBC, UK
International news
Packaging of disposable vaping products and e-liquids in England, Canada and the United States: A content analysis
[Open access] Vaping product packaging is varied and often features bright colours and novel designs, particularly among recently marketed disposable vapes. This study provides an overview of attributes found on the packaging of popular disposable vapes and e-liquid bottles in England, Canada and the United States (US) and assesses compliance with local packaging regulations | Addiction, UK
Seizing the opportunity for a smoke-free Europe
Europe is making significant strides towards the goal of having a smoke-free Europe by 2040, but how can new MEP’s help the bloc meet its target? | Parliament Magazine, UK
Thailand votes to reclassify cannabis as narcotic drug
After less than two years, Thailand’s cannabis laws are again facing upheaval. After a general election in May 2023 brought about a new Prime Minister, the government plans to criminalise cannabis again | Leafie, UK
NSW premier announces drug summit and 12 new drug and alcohol hubs across state
Chris Minns says there will be two days of forums in regional NSW in October and two days in Sydney in December | Guardian, UK
You have until Monday July 15 to take part in the 2024 EU Web Survey On Drugs and help inform harm reduction initiatives in Ireland
Do you use drugs? How many? Why? These are some of the questions being asked in the 2024 EU Web Survey On Drugs HERE, a fully anonymous survey, which finds the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) teaming up here with HSE Drugs.ie and the Health Research Board | HotPress, Ireland
Secondhand Nicotine Absorption From E-Cigarette Vapor vs Tobacco Smoke in Children
This cross-sectional study of 1777 US children aged 3 to 11 years found that, compared with children exposed to secondhand smoke only, nicotine absorption was 83.6% lower in those exposed to secondhand vapor only and 96.7% lower in those exposed to neither. [See expert reaction in Blogs below] | JAMA Network Open, USA
Drug War Dragnet: Surveillance, Criminalization, and Drug War Logic within and beyond Community Supervision
Drug war surveillance practices – like drug testing and mandated treatment – trap people in a cycle of punishment and cut people off from services and care. A new paper (PDF), co-authored by Drug Policy Alliance’s Melissa Moore and Aliza Cohen and originally published in the Federal Sentencing Reporter, examines the dynamics driving overdose deaths, criminal legal system involvement, and the drug war infiltration of people’s everyday lives | DPA, USA
House Appropriations Committee Moves to Block Cannabis Rescheduling
AGOP-led House committee is directing the Biden administration to account for how it arrived at the decision to reschedule marijuana, while also expressing concerns about cannabis-impaired driving and the market for intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids | Filter Magazine, USA
Purdue Backs Fraud Claim Against Sacklers, Amid Scramble for Immunity
In bankruptcy court on July 9, OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma secured an injunction to temporarily stave off lawsuits while it renegotiates a deal with its owners, the Sackler family. A day earlier, Purdue also supported a legal complaint against the Sacklers brought by the company’s own creditors | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Expert reaction to study finding that second-hand vaping exposure to nicotine is very low compared to second-hand smoking
A study published in JAMA Network Open looks at second-hand nicotine exposure and second-hand smoking. Prof Peter Hajek, Professor of Clinical Psychology, and Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) provides a short critque | SMC, UK
Global Family Recovery Alliance: Launch of a strengths-based approach to family recovery
Through the writings of William White, we have come to recognise that recovery is a form of social contagion spreading ripples across the surface of a tranquil pool... | Recovery Review blog, USA