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Daily news - 13th May 2024

UK news

Smoking ban: Why are young people still taking up smoking?

Smoking has been on the decline for two decades. In fact, more young people now vape than smoke tobacco. But one recent estimates suggests that about 350 young people still take up smoking each day in the UK. Among 15-year-olds, nearly one in 10 say they sometimes smoke. So why does this deadly habit still hold appeal? | BBC, UK

ASH Ready Reckoner

The ASH Ready Reckoner is an easy-to-use cost calculator, allowing you to see the costs of smoking to society. The tangible wider societal costs of smoking in England are £46.3 Bn and these are broken down into individual local authorities, combined authorities, regions, and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). Estimates are also available for parliamentary constituencies and wards | ASH, UK

Schoolchildren are falling victim to vape spiking, police warn

E-cigarette detection is problematic in schools, with vape pens designed to look like highlighters, key rings, and even functional pens | i news, UK

Women are binge drinking more than ever – and advertising is making it worse

Drinking and dieting are two sides of the same coin that sees increasing numbers of women and girls caught in a vicious cycle of shame and addiction. Anna Wolfe investigates how marketing has triggered an epidemic and asks the experts where we go from here | Independent, UK

Exploring cultural dynamics of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) women in addiction recovery: a comparison of three women from different ethnic backgrounds

[Open access] The existing recovery capital (RC) literature primarily focuses on white males. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring addiction recovery among three culturally diverse UK women, utilizing CHIME-D (Connectedness, Hope/Optimism, Identity, Meaning, Empowerment, and Difficulties) and RC frameworks. It seeks to compare their recovery paths, combining quantitative data with lived experiences, and barriers specific to women in recovery | DEPP, UK

Residential Rehabilitation Beds

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s progress towards its target to increase the number of residential rehabilitation beds in Scotland to 650 by 2026 | They work for you, UK

Specialist Alcohol Services

To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on specialist alcohol services, such as the primary care alcohol nurse outreach service in Glasgow, in dealing with the reported public health crisis in relation to alcohol | They work for you, UK

Would decriminalising drugs stem the rising drug deaths in the UK? with Niamh Eastwood - video

In this episode, we are joined by Niamh Eastwood, the Executive Director of Release. Niamh is renowned across the world for her knowledge and expertise regarding drug policy, among many other things, and discusses what how decriminalisation could be implemented in the UK and what impact it could have | Barod, UK

Daniel Tison talks to Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, mother of Daniel - audio

Daniel Tison talks to Fiona Spargo-Mabbs on the tenth anniversary of the creation of the DSM Foundation | Radio Jackie, UK

Filmmaker Melanie Manchot explains how her drama Stephen can offer hope to addicts

Stephen is a new feature film by Melanie Manchot dealing with experiences of addiction | Big Issue, UK

The affordability of medical cannabis in the UK

Wednesday, May 15 · 6 - 7pm GMT+1. To explore the affordability of medical cannabis in the UK, we speak to Lyphe Clinic on how new initiatives are decreasing cost for patients | Volteface, UK

Take Drugs Seriously with David Nutt

Bristol Beer Factory on Thursday 16th May. Drug policy in the UK causes more harm than good, and it has to change. But how do we push for change, and what are the most significant issues we need to address? Join drug researcher, neuropharmacologist, and chairman of Drug Science David Nutt to discuss what a new approach to drugs could mean for our city, families, and community. David Nutt will be joined by author and ex-undercover cop Neil Woods, CEO of Transform Drugs, Shoba Ram, and Bristol Cable's Matty Edwards will chair the discussion | Head First Bristol, UK

Six years for prisoner who ran drugs gang from cell

A prisoner who managed a drug dealing operation from behind bars by mobile phone has been given six more years in jail | BBC, UK

International news

Drink spiking is back in the spotlight – so why do Australians know so little about it?

While experts say drink spiking is ‘probably relatively rare’, many victims are reluctant to report and the government has not investigated the problem since 2004 | Guardian, UK

New law will hike age limit for buying cigarettes to 21

The legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products is set to rise from 18 to 21 under landmark legislation being introduced by the Health Minister | Irish Independent, Ireland

How incentives could better treat stimulant use disorder

While seemingly simple in principle, incentivizing someone to stop misusing stimulants can, in practice, be both misunderstood and difficult to manage | Medical Xpress, USA

Over 321,000 Children in the U.S. Lost a Parent to Drug Overdose, Study Finds

More than 321,000 children in the U.S. lost a parent to a drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, an alarming figure that shows the nation’s obligation to “comprehensively address the needs of individuals, families and communities” when tackling the growing overdose crisis, experts say | TIME, USA

A Mother’s Day Dream, After Losing My Daughter to Fentanyl Overdose

Ordinarily, my wish for Mother’s Day would be to spend a bit of time with my children. Not a lot to ask. And I will get to see my son, but I will not get to see my daughter. Not on Mother’s Day, nor on any other day, ever again. Because she died in September, at the tender age of 21, from fentanyl toxicity | Filter Magazine, USA

[Open access] The thinking behind this study was that targeting prevention programmes to the personality vulnerabilities of at-risk secondary school pupils would work better than a one-size-fits-all approach. Despite earlier promise, seven years after starting the study there were few persisting effects on illicit substance use or drinking | DAD, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Introducing Spike on a Bike: An interview with the Project Architects

Spike on a Bike is a service offered by Dyfed Drug and Alcohol Service (DDAS) where clean injecting equipment and other harm reduction services are delivered straight to the door – fast and for free | GDPO blog, UK

Cannabis cards: what are the pros and cons?

Cannabis cards have become a highly disputed and somewhat controversial point of discussion in the industry. What are cannabis cards? How have created so much tension between the industry and patient community? Let’s explore the history behind ‘the cannabis card’ and how it’s made its way to the UK | Volteface, UK

How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced in late April 2024 that it plans to ease federal restrictions on cannabis, reclassifying it from a Schedule I drug to the less restricted Schedule III, which includes drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, testosterone and other anabolic steroids. This historic shift signals an acknowledgment of the promising medicinal value of cannabis | Conversation, USA

Am I in recovery?

A recent paper on collegiate recovery experiences highlights an important dynamic in recovery advocacy, recovery science, and recovery policy | Recovery Review blog, USA

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