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Daily news - 15th November 2024 |
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UK news
NCD Prevention: A Commercial Determinants of Health Approach
A coalition of health organisations reducing the health burden of non-communicable disease (NCD) through action on alcohol, tobacco, and high fat, salt and sugar products, have published a 10-year strategy for a healthier, fairer future for Scotland | NCD Alliance Scotland, UK
Research contract: evaluation of the Scottish Government’s National Mission on Drug Deaths
Documents and guidance to support submissions for PHS programme evaluation of the Scottish Government’s National Mission on Drug Deaths: incorporating a financial and economic perspective | Public Health Scotland, UK
Coroner's ketamine warning after man's death
A coroner has written to the Home Secretary calling for urgent action over the classification of ketamine after a man's death | BBC, UK
Prison officers deal drugs and ask inmates for sex, BBC told
Next to a vandalised wire fence opposite HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, 28-year-old Beatrice Auty brushes away tears. The memories of her time inside the jail are too much to bear | BBC, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce levels of alcohol consumption in the context of alcohol mortality rates | They work for you, UK
MPs back plan to rid nation of ‘toy-like’ vapes which are ‘menace on streets’
Five million vapes are thrown away each week, equivalent to eight every second, according to environment minister Mary Creagh | Independent, UK
Children's voices used to shame hospital smokers
People lighting up outside four hospitals will be urged to put out their cigarettes by the voices of schoolchildren. Buzzers have been installed at Cardiff and Vale health board sites, with visitors and patients urged to press them if they see anyone smoking | BBC, UK
Pharmacies vote to cut services unless UK government acts over ‘crisis’
Pharmacy owners to reduce hours and make fewer home deliveries of medicines unless there is better funding | Guardian, UK
Street Drugs Discussions: ADHD and drug use
Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:00 - 14:00 GMT. Join us in this webinar for a discussion where we'll explore: The science of ADHD / Diagnosis, prognosis, and risk factors / ADHD and substance use disorders / First hand experiences | Drug Science, UK
Judge's warning over Class C drug offences
A judge in Londonderry has warned that courts will take offences involving class C drugs “more seriously” | BBC, UK
On patrol with dog that sniffs out date-rape drugs
Lottie, an English pointer, is among the first in the UK trained to find substances associated with spiking incidents, including GHB, Rohypnol and ketamine | BBC, UK
International news
The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2024: A Situation Report
A Global Perspective uses the latest evidence and new data projections to report on the current global THR situation and its potential to rapidly reduce the burden of disease and mortality associated with risky tobacco use. Measuring changes in SNP uptake, policy and regulation, it considers how these factors interrelate to support or undermine progress. Profiles for Norway, Aotearoa New Zealand, Japan, and the UK are available. A broader regional focus is applied to Latin America and Eastern Europe and Central Asia | GSTHR, UK
Key insights into cannabis-cancer pathobiology and genotoxicity
[Open access] Whilst mitochondrial inhibition and micronuclear fragmentation are well established features of the cannabis literature mitochondrial stress and dysfunction has recently been shown to be a powerful and direct driver of micronucleus formation and chromosomal breakage by multiple mechanisms. In turn genotoxic damage can be expected to be expressed as increased rates of cancer, congenital anomalies and aging; pathologies which are increasingly observed in modern continent-wide studies | Addiction Biology, UK
Dead drops, PR stunts and punishment beatings: the rapid rise of Russia’s powerful darknet drug industry
Tech-savvy organised crime groups profiting from billion-dollar enterprise that is spreading beyond Russian borders | Guardian, UK
‘I can hardly walk across a room’: David Lynch urges smokers to quit after emphysema diagnosis
The Twin Peaks director, who began smoking at eight, says he ‘saw the writing on the wall and it said, “You’re going to die in a week if you don’t stop”’ | Guardian, UK
UB research reveals how low-dose ketamine alleviates depression symptoms within hours
UB neuroscientists have identified the binding site of low-dose ketamine, providing critical insight into how the medication, often described as a wonder drug, alleviates symptoms of major depression in as little as a few hours with effects lasting for several days | University of Buffalo, USA
Association of Cigarette–E-Cigarette Transitions With Respiratory Symptom Resolution
[Open access] Adults increasingly use e-cigarettes for cigarette cessation because of the perceived reduced risk. While e-cigarette use is associated with reduced toxicant exposure compared with smoking, it is unclear whether transitioning from cigarettes to e-cigarettes is associated with resolution of respiratory symptoms | Nicotine & Tobacco Research, USA
US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
There were about 97,000 overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That's down 14% from the estimated 113,000 for the previous 12-month period | Medical Xpress, USA
Exposure to marijuana in the womb may increase risk of addiction to opioids later in life, study finds
With the increased legalization of recreational cannabis, as many as 1 in 5 pregnant women in the U.S. are now using the drug to help with morning sickness, lower back pain or anxiety. Evidence has been growing, however, to suggest that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, poses risks to the developing fetus by impacting brain development. Now a new study finds that this could increase the risk of addiction to opioids later in life | Medical Xpress, USA
Network Watch Monitoring Drug Street Names Added to DAWN, January 2023 to August 2024 (PDF)
This Network Watch presents drug street names that appeared in the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) data for the first time from January 2023 to August 2024 | SAMHSA, USA
“War on Cartels” and Harm Reduction in Peril—Drug Policy Under Trump
President-elect Donald Trump wants drug traffickers to be executed, and could soon have the authority to make that happen | Filter Magazine, USA
Baclofen-related deaths in Australia 2000–2022
In Australia, the therapeutic indication of baclofen (oral tablets) is for the treatment of muscle spasm. Deaths related to baclofen have been reported, as well as misuse, dependence and self-poisoning. This national retrospective study aimed to investigate the number, characteristics, circumstances, and toxicology of baclofen-related deaths in Australia, 2000–2022 | Forensic Science International, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Bringing the flamethrower of reform to FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products
FDA's approach to tobacco and nicotine regulation should be a high priority for reformers of the federal bureaucracy. FDA's Center for Tobacco Products manages to combine near complete regulatory failure with vast costs to the regulated industries and to the FDA | Counterfactual blog, Australia