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Daily news - 23rd July 2024 |
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UK news
Controlled drugs annual update report for 2023
There is a significant increase in the number of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) prescribed privately in the independent sector. The most current available prescribing data for independent services has shown an increase of 118% between 30 June 2022 and 30 June 2023. The number of unlicensed CBPMs prescribed each year continues to increase by at least 100% annually | CQC, UK
Evaluating the Acceptability of the Drink Less App and the National Health Service Alcohol Advice Web Page: Qualitative Interview Process Evaluation
The Drink Less app was developed by researchers at University College London. A sub-sample from a trial comparing it to the NHS alcohol advice web page thought it the more effective at helping control their drinking, results in line with consumption findings from the parent trial | JMIR, UK
UK smoking ban: How new law will work and who will be affected - video
In today’s video, we’re delving into the details of the new UK smoking ban. We'll explain how the new law will work and who will be affected by these changes. From the specifics of the regulations to the potential impacts on different groups, we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re a smoker, a business owner, or just curious about public health policies, this video has all the information you need | UK Times, UK
Church tackles graveyard 'sex, fighting and drugs'
All Saints Parish Church in High Wycombe has asked Buckinghamshire Council to grant it a certificate of lawfulness for the new cameras in order to improve security | BBC, UK
International news
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL | GFN24 Commentary Team hosted by Harry Shapiro - video
Harry discusses reasons to be cheerful regarding tobacco harm reduction with Lindsay Stroud, Director of the Consumer Centre for the US Taxpayers Alliance and David Swenor, Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of London, Ottawa in Canada, who's got a 40-year career in tobacco control | GFN, UK
Enhancing a strategy to reduce opioid overdose deaths
In a study published in Harm Reduction Journal, a team led by CUNY SPH researchers examined why Connecticut's good Samaritan laws aren't working as intended to reduce opioid deaths | Medical Xpress, USA
Opioid Overdose After Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Initiation Following Hospitalization or ED Visit
In this cohort study of 22 235 patients with an OUD-related hospital visit, 5.3% commenced medication for OUD within 7 days, and these patients had lower adjusted odds of fatal or nonfatal opioid overdose at 6 months | JAMA Network Open, USA
Experimental drug supercharges medicine that reverses opioid overdose
Adding newly ID’d compound makes naloxone more potent and longer lasting | Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA
Increased cannabis use in diabetics raises concerns about health risks
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found a significant increase in cannabis use among adults with diabetes in the United States, raising concerns about the potential impact on their health outcomes. The new study, which analyzed nationally representative data from the 2021-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), estimated that 9.0 percent of adults with diabetes used cannabis in the past month | News Medical, USA
Bipolar disorder and alcohol: It's not as simple as 'self-medication,' says study
Bipolar disorder and alcohol problems seem to go hand-in-hand, leading to a widespread belief that drinking acts as a kind of "self-medication" to ease bipolar's life-altering symptoms of mania, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and more... | Medical Xpress, USA
Alcohol Research: Current Reviews Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (ARCR). ARCR is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) at the National Institutes of Health | NIAAA, USA
BC Lawsuit Highlights Harms of Opioid Prescribing Crackdown
A lawsuit in British Columbia details how a regulatory body is allegedly “harassing” doctors into taking pain patients off their medications | Filter Magazine, USA
Child Drug Exposure Cases, and the Vilification of Parents Who Use Drugs
“It never should have happened,” Brianne Ehlinger, 33, later said tearfully, in a recorded law enforcement interview that was recently made public by investigators in Boone County, Kentucky. “I have an addiction problem. I have since I was 18. I’ve had two years clean recently. And I recently relapsed about a month ago.” | Filter Magazine, USA
Years after Insite ruling, B.C. drug policy landscape still in flux
Safe supply advocates in Vancouver are preparing a Charter challenge | CBC News, Canada
Efficacy and Safety of Modafinil for Treatment of Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials
[Open access] Across the most rigorous trials, the stimulant modafinil did not significantly reduce amphetamine use or craving. Psychosocial approaches remain the treatment mainstay | Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Canada
The role of on-site drug analysis within supervised injecting facilities: A case presentation of an adverse event highlighting need
[Open access] The Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre provides a safe, non-judgemental space where people can inject pre-obtained substances under the supervision of trained staff. This article describes an unusual incident occurring at the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in January 2023 | DAR, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Why is Labour ignoring cannabis harms?
The incoming Labour government has reignited an old debate about smoking by choosing to breathe new life into Rishi Sunak’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill. This bill will “progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes” in order to create a “smoke-free generation”. The new government’s proposed legislative programme includes other public health measures, not just pertaining to smoking bans but also a renewed focus on mental health by reforming the Mental Health Act | UnHerd, UK
A sobering wake-up call around alcohol marketing
Dr Alex Barker calls for The Psychologist to ‘move ahead of the curve’ on advertising | BPS, UK
Alcohol sponsorship – is it worth it???
In this blog, Alan Russell, the Chief Executive of Supporters Direct Scotland (SDS), reflects on the findings of SHAAP and SDS’ recent focus group, the need for democratic decision making in Scottish football, and his experience of the Euros 2024 | SHAAP blog, UK
New Report Lights Up Path for Drug Regulation in Colombia
Internationally, Colombia has forged ahead with its agenda of drug policy change, openly criticising the UN’s drug control regime while condemning the damage that decades of prohibition have caused to its own people and ecosystems. However, the country must also focus its attention internally to ensure that its hard-earned successes are not undone by future policy-makers. It is within this spirit that research and advocacy organisation Dejusticia has published a report explaining how the nation can change its constitution to enable drug regulation | Talking Drugs, UK
We should leverage the successes of HIV care to prevent overdose mortality
For complex reasons, HIV and substance use have been inextricably linked since the HIV epidemic began more than four decades ago. Consequently, it was not a surprise when an analysis of the New York City HIV surveillance registry published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (JAIDS) found that in 2017, rates of overdose deaths for people living with HIV were more than double overall overdose death rates in that city | NIDA blog, USA
Vaping and mental health are closely linked. That can make quitting even harder
Vaping is in your news feed for its regulation, impact on public health and effects on young people. So with growing awareness of the effects of vaping on health plus recent reforms to limit availability of vapes to pharmacies in Australia, many people will be thinking about quitting. They will also need support to do so | Conversation, Australia