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Daily news - 1st October 2024 |
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UK news
Get ready for Stoptober
This October, join the 2.5 million people who’ve been inspired by Stoptober. Even if it’s your first time or you’ve tried before, Stoptober gives you the perfect opportunity to quit smoking. Stay smoke-free for 28 days, and you’re 5 times more likely to quit for good | NHS, UK
Alcohol at work: it’s time to rethink the drink
Alcohol consumption can have a variety of negative impacts on workers and the wider business, so it’s essential to create a workplace culture where staff understand the health risks, don’t face pressure to drink at company events and would feel comfortable raising concerns about their own or others’ drinking | British Safety Council, UK
Events arm of Economist group to stop signing tobacco sponsorship deals
Exclusive: Move signals change of policy that was causing health groups to withdraw from conferences and disquiet within media brand | Guardian, UK
The Domino Effect Campaign - video
The Domino Effect campaign is an inspiring initiative created by Manchester-based Change Grow Live volunteers. Drawing from their personal experiences of addiction and recovery, they have developed a passionate and compelling multimedia campaign | Inspiring Youth, UK
Safer Lives Conference 2024 Turning Point
Tue, 26 Nov 2024 10:00 - 16:30 GMT. The Birmingham Conference & Events Centre. Join us for the 2024 Safer Lives conference to meet harm reduction professionals and hear from expert speakers | Turning Point, UK
Crimewatch Caught. Series 1: 10. The Drugs, the Cash, the Cryptocurrency - video
How a determined police force took down the gang selling industrial amounts of cocaine and laundering their profits through multiple cryptocurrency accounts | BBC iplayer, UK
Crimewatch Caught. Series 1: 12. The Huge Drugs Conspiracy - video
After a phone is left behind at the scene of a minor car crash in Cardiff, police go on to unravel a huge drugs conspiracy | BBC iplayer, UK
International news
Lower attention ability in adolescence predicts substance use in later life
Sustained attention, the ability to maintain focus on a task over time, is an important cognitive ability. Substance use, particularly cigarettes and cannabis, has previously been linked to impairments in sustained attention. But it was unclear if poor sustained attention preceded substance use or was a consequence of substance use. The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal eLife, found for the first time that lower sustained attention and related brain network activity at age 14 predicted a larger increase in cigarette and cannabis use by age 23 | Trinty College Dublin, Ireland
EUDA Executive Director issues Call to action on new synthetic opioids at European Parliament
EUDA Executive Director, Alexis Goosdeel, issued a critical Call to action to EU partners and Member States today urging them to unite against the growing threat posed by new synthetic opioids. In his address — 'New synthetic opioids – European preparedness and response' — he highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action | EUDA, Portugal
DrugNet Europe - September 2024
Latest drug policy news round up from the European Union's Drug Agency | EUDA, Portugal
AAP publishes first clinical guideline for opioid use in pediatric care
The American Academy of Pediatrics has published its first clinical guideline for pediatricians on prescribing opioids, including explicit instructions on how and when to prescribe these medications for pain while reducing the long-term risk of addiction | News Medical, USA
Drug overdose deaths take a growing toll on US children
2% of all children nationwide—had lost a family member to a drug overdose as of 2019, according to a study by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Pennsylvania State University. The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, shed light on the often-overlooked emotional toll of overdose deaths on the youngest and most vulnerable members of society and provide the first concrete data quantifying its impact | Medical Xpress, USA
Buprenorphine-Precipitated Withdrawal Among Hospitalized Patients Using Fentanyl
In this cohort study of 226 adult emergency department or hospitalized patients with opioid withdrawal severity documented within 4 hours of buprenorphine initiation, 12% developed precipitated withdrawal | JAMA Network Open, USA
Evaluating a mobile app’s effects on depression and anxiety in medication-treated opioid use disorder
Depression and anxiety frequently co-occur with opioid use disorder (OUD) yet are often overlooked in standard OUD treatments. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a mobile application designed to address these symptoms in individuals receiving medications for OUD (MOUD) | npj, USA
Synthetic THC may calm agitation in Alzheimer's patients
A synthetic form of the active ingredient in cannabis helps reduce agitation in people with Alzheimer's, new research shows | Medical Xpress, USA
Calls for permanent Canberra drug testing service after deadly fentanyl detected for first time
A brown sample brought to CanTEST for testing on Saturday (28 September) was found to contain a combination of paracetamol, caffeine, heroin, 6-MAM and the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl | Riotact, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinon
Temperance and alcohol control advocacy
It is sometimes suggested that alcohol control advocates, like the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), are ‘neo-temperance’ campaigners. Because of the general perception of the temperance movement as glum, finger-wagging and judgemental, accusations of this type are not meant as a compliment | IAS blog, UK
Duncan Cunningham: Where is the plan to support today’s smokers to quit for good?
Right now in the UK, the conversation around smoking isn’t about smokers. It’s about a generation ban, rightly seeking to protect future generations from ever starting to smoke | Conservative Home, UK
Pharmacists are now allowed to supply nicotine vapes over the counter. But they might not be so easy to access
From today, October 1, new changes to Australian laws around vaping products should make it easier for adults to get low-dose nicotine vapes as a tool to quit smoking. Pharmacists will be able to supply vapes containing up to 2% nicotine without a prescription following a patient consultation | Conversation, Australia