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Daily news - 8th November 2024 |
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UK news
National Mission evaluation - Lived experience survey
PHS has launched a survey aimed at individuals with experience of using drugs. The survey will run until the end of December 2024. The feedback survey is part of the National Mission evaluation. The survey will help improve our understanding of what it is like for individuals with experience of using drugs in Scotland to try getting the support they need. The survey also asks people whether they feel that their experience of trying to access support has improved or worsened over the last two years | PHS, UK
Menthol filters and rolling papers likely undermining UK ban on menthol cigarettes
UK legislation that came into force in May 2020 aimed to curb menthol cigarette use, banning cigarettes with a “characterising flavour”. However, previous research by UCL found that a million adults (one in seven adult smokers) still reported using menthol-flavoured cigarettes after the ban. The new study, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, found a substantial increase in roll-your-own tobacco use among those smokers who reported using menthol flavouring, from 50% in October 2020 to 62% by June 2022 | UCL, UK
Different class
Society has always taken a different view of middle class and working class drug use, says Mark Gilman – and the results are plain to see | DDN, UK
Nitazenes
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent the use of nitazenes | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Death
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of drug-related deaths | They work for you, UK
Smoking: Children and Young People
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of NHS stop smoking services amongst underage smokers | They work for you, UK
Drugs: Rehabilitation
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish the findings or results of Dame Carol Black’s recent work on drugs in the criminal justice system | They work for you, UK
Ethics in focus: the power and principles of telling stories of substance use
Thu 28 Nov 2024, 12:30PM - 2:00PM. Online. The Anti-Stigma Network aims to improve the understanding of the stigma and discrimination experienced by all people affected by drug and alcohol use. Created by a group of organisations with a shared mission, we aim to help coordinate and amplify the huge variety of existing anti-stigma work across the UK. Maximising our shared effort to take action to end stigma | Antistigma Network, UK
Words Matter: A Knowledge Exchange Event with Turning Point Scotland & DRNS
Thu, 5 Dec 2024 10:30 - 14:30 GMT. Join us for a knowledge exchange event on the importance of language when communicating about alcohol and other drugs | DRNS, UK
Boutcher apology after officers watch drugs arrest footage
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)'s chief constable has apologised for the actions of 74 officers who broke rules when they watched body worn camera footage of a drugs arrest for their own amusement | BBC, UK
Crackdown on prison's 'catastrophic' drug problem
A crackdown at a rodent-infested prison where drug use is at "catastrophic levels" has been planned after a damming inspection | BBC, UK
Cannabis farm in building neighbouring police station
A cannabis farm with more than 400 plants has been discovered in a former Co-op shop, four doors down from a police station | BBC, UK
International news
Could the Netherlands become the first country to legalise MDMA?
Prohibition of the party drug has been standard across Europe since the late-'80s, but scientific studies on medical use, an interest in a harm reduction-led approach, and a push to counter gang violence is seeing a movement for legalisation and regulation gather momentum in the Netherlands | MixMag, UK
Sweden set to be declared world’s first ‘smoke-free’ country
The Scandinavian country has by far the lowest smoking rate in Europe, having fallen from 15 per cent in 2007 to 5.6 per cent in 2022 | Clearing the Air, UK
Spanish police seize record cocaine haul in banana shipment from Ecuador
Partner in company due to receive shipment arrested after 13 tonnes of drug discovered at port of Algeciras | Guardian, UK
Improving racial/ethnic health equity and naloxone access among people at risk for opioid overdose: A simulation modeling analysis of community-based naloxone distribution strategies in Massachusetts, United States
[Open access] During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surge in opioid overdose deaths (OODs) in Massachusetts, USA, particularly among Black and Hispanic/Latinx populations. Despite the increasing racial and ethnic disparities in OODs, there was no compensatory increase in naloxone distributed to these groups. We aimed to evaluate two community-based naloxone expansion strategies, with the objective of identifying approaches that could mitigate mortality and racial and ethnic disparities in OODs | Addiction, UK
Dutch court upholds e-cigarette flavor ban
A Dutch court on Wednesday upheld a government ban on sweet flavors for e-cigarettes, arguing they encouraged young people to smoke | Medical Xpress, USA
Berry-flavored vapes impair lung immune response
Alveolar macrophages (AM) are innate immune cells present within alveoli that protect the lower respiratory tract against invading pathogens. A new study published in PNAS reports alterations in AM function following exposure to berry-flavored e-cigarettes, which lead to poor immune responses to pathogens and reduced host survival | News Medical, USA
Ketamine overdoses like the one that killed Matthew Perry are rare but increasing
After "Friends" star Matthew Perry was found dead in his home jacuzzi just over a year ago, an autopsy later pinpointed the main cause of death as an acute ketamine overdose | Medical Xpress, USA
Hepatitis C screenings shown to be uncommon among opioid overdose patients
New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine indicates that accidental opioid overdose patients in central Missouri have high rates of hepatitis C infections, despite only 40% of patients having a history of testing | Medical Xpress, USA
12 states promised to open the books on their opioid settlement funds. We checked up on them
To discover how millions in opioid settlement funds are being spent in Idaho, you can visit the state attorney general's website, which hosts 91 documents from state and local entities getting the money | News Medical, USA
Psychologists are positive about psychedelic-assisted therapy, suggests Australian study
"Australian psychologists' attitudes towards psychedelic-assisted therapy and training following a world-first drug down-scheduling" has been published in Drug and Alcohol Review | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
The ketamine crisis has crept up on British youth
Samantha Sherratt says young adults are presenting with life-changing bladder problems, while another reader writes that her daughter took her own life after years of addiction | Guardian letters, UK
Reflecting on the Women’s Healing Retreat: A Journey of Connection, Empowerment, and Renewal
This October, FAVOR UK hosted the Women’s Healing Retreat at the serene Netherurd Garden House in the Scottish Borders, creating a space where women from diverse backgrounds came together to support each other, share stories, and rejuvenate their spirits | FAVOR, UK
Without alcohol I can be the father I’ve always wanted to be
“My drinking took a toll on my daughter,” says Michael Andreassen, a radio host and media personality from Norway. “While she never felt unsafe, it was an incredibly lonely time for her. I’d pass out on the sofa, and she couldn’t wake me. I still get emotional thinking about it. Now we talk about everything, openly and honestly. Without alcohol I can be the father to my children I’ve always wanted to be | WHO, Austria
Ballot measures to legalize recreational use of cannabis fail in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota
Nov. 5, 2024, was a tough day for cannabis legalization supporters. Recreational legalization ballot questions in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota all failed. Two medical measures passed in Nebraska but face legal challenges over the validity of the signatures required to get the measures on the ballot. Why two measures? One legalizes the medical use of cannabis, and the second regulates it | Conversation, USA