Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 12th November 2024 |
 |
UK news
NHS offers 'improved' stop smoking pill
The NHS will start offering an "improved" stop smoking pill to tens of thousands of people in England who want to quit cigarettes. Varenicline, a daily tablet given over a few months, is as effective as vapes and more effective than nicotine replacement gum or patches, NHS England says | BBC, UK
Now hear this
Nitazenes have been a topic of conversation for well over a year in the UK, as we have had multiple instances of clusters of lives lost in short periods due to contaminated drug supplies. Treatment providers have responded to fears of a nitazene-adulterated drug supply by increasing naloxone provision, providing nitazene testing strips, warning opiate users that they risk overdose even when smoking, as well as issuing alerts when nitazenes are detected locally | DDN, UK
Cost–utility analysis of provision of e-cigarette starter kits for smoking cessation in emergency departments: An economic evaluation of a randomized controlled trial
[Open access] The UK Cessation of Smoking Trial in Emergency Department (COSTED) intervention (provision of an e-cigarette starter kit plus brief smoking cessation advice) was cost-effective compared with signposting to local stop smoking services under the current recommendations of the maximum acceptable thresholds | Addiction, UK
Lights of Love and Memory
Wednesday 27 November 2024 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (UTC+00). Please join us for our Christmas event - featuring live music and readings. You will have the chance to make a handwritten dedication on our tree and join us for our special tree lighting ceremony | SFAD, UK
Ethics in focus: the power and principles of telling stories of substance use
Thursday 28th November 2024. Stories help to bridge divides, inspire action, shape policies, influence perception and create change.
Join us for an expert led discussion on the ethics and power of storytelling as we dive into ethical considerations, responsibilities, and best practices for sharing stories about people that use substances, addiction, recovery, and resilience | Phoenix Futures, UK
Preventing relapse to alcohol in patients with cirrhosis - Survey
Abstinence from alcohol is the most important treatment for patients with alcohol related cirrhosis. During a hospital admission patients have an enforced period of abstinence. This provides an opportunity to establish long term abstinence and provide support to patients to help them prevent relapse. In this project, we are seeking to understand the best ways to support patients with alcohol related cirrhosis to avoid relapse to alcohol after an admission to hospital | University of Cambridge et al, UK
Airline passenger jailed for £8.5m cocaine haul
Alistair Paylor, 48, of High Northgate in Darlington, was caught at Newcastle Airport by UK Border Force after flying from Cancun in Mexico in August | BBC, UK
International news
Assessment of e-cigarette dependence and influencing factors among Palestinian young adults: a cross-sectional study
[Open access] E-cigarette use is a growing public health concern, especially because of the potential health risks it poses. This study focuses on assessing e-cigarette dependence and the factors associated with it among Palestinian young adults. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to May 2023 among university students in the West Bank. The study revealed high levels of e-cigarettes dependence among the participants among young adults, with associated variables such as monthly allowance, attitudes, and age of e-cigarette initiation | Lancet, UK
Fianna Fáil vows to decriminalise possession of cannabis for personal use
Possession of cannabis for personal use will be decriminalised under a Fianna Fáil election pledge, which emphasises a switch towards educational treatment programmes | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Notes from the Field: Ketamine Detection and Involvement in Drug Overdose Deaths — United States, July 2019–June 2023
During July 2019–June 2023, ketamine was detected in <1% of overdose deaths and was the only drug involved in 24 deaths. During this period, the percentage of overdose deaths with ketamine detected in toxicology reports increased from 0.3% (47 deaths) to 0.5% (107 deaths). Approximately 82% of deaths with ketamine detected in toxicology reports involved other substances, including illegally manufactured fentanyls, methamphetamine, or cocaine | CDC, USA
Study finds online e-cigarette retailers fail to comply with sale restrictions for minors
Online e-cigarette retailers are not consistently adhering to laws aimed at preventing the sale of vaping products to minors, including regulations on age verification, shipping methods and flavor restrictions, report researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego | Medical Xpress, USA
12 states promised to open the books on their opioid settlement funds: Researchers 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 | Medical Xpress, USA
“906 Vapor” Tracks Assault on Grassroots Tobacco Harm Reduction
“I never could have guessed,” reflects Marc Slis, “what would happen when I quit smoking.” 906 Vapor is a short documentary I made about a vape shop owned by Slis in Houghton, Michigan. The population of this quirky, remote Upper Peninsula community is just shy of 8,000. Its heyday as the world’s largest supplier of copper has long passed, but its residents remain proud of their heritage and identity | Filter Magazine, USA
Alcohol available for consumption in Australia
The Alcohol available for consumption in Australia report, previously referred to as ‘Apparent consumption of alcohol in Australia’ uses data from a range of sources. These sources include excise data, import clearance records, financial information, and sales data to estimate the total amount of alcohol made available to people living in Australia every financial year. Estimates are also available for the total amount of alcohol in the forms of beer, wine, spirits, and cider | AIHW, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Can Strategies that Cut Smoking Reduce Opioid Addiction?
Lessons learned from anti-smoking campaigns could slash recreational opioid use | Psychology Today blog, USA
Societal Hikikomori and the Importance of Bridging Community Capital
Physical isolation is increasingly becoming a common way that people cope with challenges in our society. Hikikomori is a Japanese term that describes a condition where a person, typically a young adult is socially avoidant to the point of staying isolated at home, often in their bedroom for at least six months without social interaction | Recovery Review blog, USA
Our new study shows teen vaping is linked to childhood trauma. Here’s why it might be harder to quit
If you experience trauma during childhood, there’s a greater chance you’ll use substances such as alcohol, tobacco and other drugs later. But what does the evidence say about vapes? Our new study is the first to investigate the links between childhood trauma and vaping habits in Australian teens. Those who’d had traumatic experiences before the age of 12 were more likely to have tried vaping, vape regularly or intend to in the future | Conversation, Australia