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Daily news - 7th October 2024 |
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UK news
England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol as deaths rise 10% a year
Health leaders tell government to follow Scotland and Wales on cost of cheap booze after Darzi report on death toll | Guardian, UK
Vaping ‘to be banned outside schools and hospitals’ in England
Measures to stop children from vaping could be included in forthcoming tobacco and vapes bill | Guardian, UK
Some vapes claiming to be cannabis contain ‘synthetic cannabinoid’ – study
University of Bath researchers found seven vaporizers sourced from the US contained dangerous SC compound | Guardian, UK
Drug consumption room: a lifesaver or a life sentence for addicts?
The UK's first drug consumption room allowing people to take illegal substances without the threat of arrest is due to open in Glasgow this month. The safer drugs consumption facility will be located on Hunter Street, in the city's east end, and is intended to help reduce the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland by giving people a place to inject without the risk of overdosing. Here 1919 Magazine answers the key questions surrounding the launch of the drug consumption room, before two politicians with very different opinions about the facility give their views | 1919 Magazine, UK
Tackling hospital service burden of alcohol dependence in England: a service evaluation of alcohol care teams (ACTs) and care pathways for integrated care
[Open access] Chronic alcohol disorder hospital admissions are increasing in England and present a huge cost to England’s health and social care costs. Hospital-based alcohol care teams (ACTs) aim to better meet these patients’ complex needs through assessment and targeted referral. This has the potential to work effectively within England’s newly established integrated care system. The aim of this project was to identify in what ways ACTs can be effective in improving care pathways for complex care in a whole-system health and social care setting | DEPP, UK
Smoking rates on the increase in seaside town
The proportion of smokers in the Lancashire resort was 21.3% in 2023 - one fifth of adults who live there - and the second highest area in the UK | BBC, UK
'Parkrun saved my life after drug addiction'
Lorraine Parbury, 38, says volunteering at the event in Clifton, Nottingham, had given her a fresh focus | BBC, UK
Jail offered way out of crime, says ex-drug dealer
A man jailed for his role in a million-pound drug dealing operation has spoken of how his time in prison offered him a “way out” of the criminal lifestyle | BBC, UK
Wine sellers campaign against looming alcohol duty plan
Big names including Majestic and Laithwaites hope to head off price rises whereby drinks will be taxed on AB | Guardian, UK
How the Scottish Parliament is lobbied: Oil giants and whisky chiefs' 'speed dating' access to MSPs
Whisky chiefs have ramped up their lobbying at Holyrood - reaching almost three quarters of MSPs since the last Scottish election - while oil and gas giants have increased pressure on politicians over the future of the North Sea, The Scotsman can reveal | Scotsman, UK
International news
‘Unprecedented’ decline in US drug overdose deaths gives experts hope
A new report states fatalities had decreased by 10% as of April 2024 while 911 first-responder calls were 16.7% lower | Guardian, UK
New dual mental health and addiction programme to start in Cork Prison
The first mental health and addiction programme in Irish jails is due to start in Cork Prison early next year after getting funding in Budget 2025. The dual diagnosis programme will run on a pilot basis for inmates with both a mental illness and a substance use addiction. It is part of a National Dual Diagnosis Model of Care which was launched by the HSE in May 2023 | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Bodies in streets, parks, buses: The everyday horror of stumbling on an overdose victim
Adrianna Roome was watering flowers in a community garden near her home when she noticed a man lying motionless, clutching a suitcase filled with his belongings | San Francisco Standard, USA
Variation in Opioid Agonist Dosing in Clinical Trials by Race and Ethnicity
Across three US trials evaluating methadone or buprenorphine maintenance, black patients tended to be prescribed somewhat lower doses than similar white patients, potentially jeopardising the success of their treatment. Commentators speculated that outside the context of tightly controlled studies, differences may be greater| JAMA Network Open, USA
Infective Endocarditis Among Women Who Inject Drugs
In this retrospective cohort study of 430 people who inject drugs with IE, women comprised more than 50% of the group. WWID with IE who lived in urban settings had higher hazard of mortality than woman in rural settings, and inpatient substance use disorder counseling was associated with better long-term survival | JAMA Network Open, USA
Shedding light on alcohol's long shadow among pregnant and parenting women
The woman came in crying. She was disheveled and pregnant, and appeared to be intoxicated. She had a 5-year-old girl in tow and was looking for help from the crisis center where Anna Shchetinina volunteered | Medical Xpress, USA
Chicago sees steep drop in number of deaths tied to opioid overdoses
Chicago and Cook County are on pace to see a drastic decline in opioid-related fatalities in 2024, keeping with a nationwide downturn in fatal drug overdoses since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic | Medical Xpress, USA
Inequities in substance testing at pediatric trauma centers revealed
Injured adolescents from marginalized groups treated at pediatric trauma centers are more likely to be tested for drugs and alcohol than white adolescents, even when accounting for injury severity, a study led by researchers at UCLA and Children's Hospital Los Angeles suggests | Medical Xpress, USA
Older e-cigarette users face increased odds of respiratory issues, study finds
A study by doctoral student Adriana Eugene and Distinguished Professor Luisa N. Borrell found that older adults who use electronic cigarettes had greater odds of reporting respiratory illness such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and COPD. The findings are published in the journal Preventive Medicine | Medical Xpress, USA
Distrust in the Health Care System and Adherence to Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy among People with Hepatitis C Virus Who Inject Drugs
[Open access] In New York distrust of healthcare systems was assessed among injectors being treated for hepatitis C infection at substitute prescribing services. The least trusting were less likely to take adequate amounts of their lifesaving hepatitis medications, a consequence say the researchers of the "history of discrimination and institutionalized racism in healthcare" and the "stigmatization and discrimination" faced by injecting drug users | Viruses, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
‘If you don’t smoke, don’t vape’ message is getting lost. Does it matter?
Chug on a Lost Mary and change your life for the better. That’s the message (pretty much) of medical experts and health authorities, who have heralded vaping as something of a miracle, in their effort to stop the UK population from smoking tobacco | Grocer, UK
Why The Outrun film gets addiction and recovery right
Forward Trustee Lisa Bryer gives her account of the private screening for The Outrun, which is now available to watch in cinemas across the world | Forward Trust blog, UK
Smokers have a higher level of harmful bacteria in the mouth – new study
A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 8 million people die annually from smoking related complications. Despite efforts by governments and various organisations to create awareness about the dangers, around 1.3 billion people still use some form of tobacco and 80% of them live in low to middle income countries | Conversation, USA