Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 15th October 2024 |
 |
UK news
Scots panel drafted to help drugs crisis response
A group of randomly chosen Scots will help MSPs come up with creative solutions to tackle drug deaths, Holyrood has announced – launching the people’s panel on drug harms | HealthandCare.Scot, UK
Fan group blasts 'hypocritical' SPFL amid fresh warning over Scottish football's reliance on alcohol sponsors
Scottish football continues to have an unhealthy and unsustainable reliance on sponsorship deals with alcohol and gambling companies, a prominent supporters’ group has warned | Mail Online, UK
'Smoking was costing me in more ways than one'
A retired lorry driver who smoked up to 50 cigarettes a day said his decision to quit after 60 years had been "life-changing" | BBC, UK
Drug use in Guernsey is a hidden harm - expert
It comes as Guernsey States welcomed members of Narcotics Anonymous to the island to hear about the work and reach of the organisation offering peer support for people facing addiction issues. Andrea Nightingale, substance use lead at the Health Improvement Commission, believes the peer support group for people with addiction issues could supplement public provisions | BBC, UK
Safer Inhalation Pipes are back at BDP
In 2023 Bristol Drugs Project was involved in a Safer Inhalation Pipe (SIP) project, where we were able to distribute crack pipes to the people of Bristol for the duration of the study, with the aim of reducing health harms among people who use crack | BDP, UK
Strategies for Overcoming Stigma: Addressing Substance Use Disorder in the United Kingdom
Tue, Oct 22, 2024 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM BST. This webinar will feature three presentations from organisations working to challenge the stigma experienced by individuals who have or have had a substance use disorder in the UK, followed by a chaired Q&A session to look at successful evidenced based strategies to tackle the issue, taking prepared questions as well as questions from the audience | ISSUP, UK
Alcohol street ban begins in seaside resort
An order banning people from drinking alcohol on some streets in a coastal resort aims to reduce "a fear of going out", a council said | BBC, UK
Council installs vape recycling bins at its tips
North Yorkshire Council said the bins would be available at 20 recycling centres across the county | BBC, UK
Do not throw vapes in the bin, urge waste workers
Disposable vapes are among dangerous items being thrown away in household waste and causing fires and explosions, putting refuse workers at risk, local councils and waste companies have warned | BBC, UK
Guns, drugs and 800 parrots found at property
Police seized guns, drugs and found 800 parrots when they raided the premises of a drug dealer who owned a pet shop, a court heard | BBC, UK
International news
A qualitative study of psychological stress and coping among persons using crack cocaine
[Open access] Research has identified a strong link between stress and drug use behaviours. Also, it has been established that the prolonged use of crack cocaine stimulates emotional, cognitive, neurological and social changes. This paper explores the psychological stressors that occur from crack cocaine use and the coping mechanisms used to mitigate them. This will provide an understanding of the intricate relationship between substance use and psychological well-being | BMC Psychology, UK
Tour of cannabis factory in Canada shows glimpse of road ahead for Ireland
“These are the walls you’d see in an operating theatre.” | Journal, Ireland
Horror as Dublin girl, 7, loses eye in freak accident as 'vape battery acid shoots from open fire'
A young girl in Dublin lost her eye after medics believe battery acid from a vape shot into her face as she walked beside an open flame | Irish Mirror, Ireland
Registration opens for European Drugs Winter and Summer Schools 2025
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) are delighted to open registration today for two upcoming joint events in 2025: the European Drugs Winter School (EDWS) and the European Drugs Summer School (EDSS) | EMCDDA, Portugal
OPTIMUS side-event Lisbon Addictions Conference
Oct 22, 2024 01:00 PM in London. The OPTIMUS group is developing international consensus guidance for monitoring opioid disorder treatment outcomes. In this side event of the Lisbon Addictions Conference we will take stock of progress so far and discuss our next steps. This is a hybrid event, on-site at the conference venue and live online. The online event is open for registration to anyone interested | Lisbon Addictions, Portugal
Study finds more bystanders are using naloxone to reverse opioid overdose
Use of a lifesaving drug to reverse opioid drug overdoses is growing, but not fast enough. That's according to new research in JAMA Network Open from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, College of Public Health and the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians | Medical Xpress, USA
Reduced injection risk behavior with co-located hepatitis C treatment at a syringe service program: The accessible care model
[Open access] In New York offering treatment for hepatitis C infection at a needle exchange rather than by referral to a hospital or clinic resulted in reduced frequency of injecting. An earlier report from the same study had established that treatment of infection was also improved | PLOS One, USA
Patient outcomes following buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder: A retrospective analysis of the influence of patient- and prescriber-level characteristics in Massachusetts, USA
[Open access] Subsequent continuity of treatment and overdose were assessed among 37,955 patients in the US state of Massachusetts who started treatment with buprenorphine between 2015 and 2019. Results were better for psychiatrists than primary care doctors and worse for prescribers with relatively large buprenorphine caseloads, presumed to reflect inadequate per-patient resources | Addiction, USA
Strategies to Deimplement Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care
[Open access] A three-pronged US attempt to reduce reliance on opioid drugs to reduce pain among primary care patients was only modestly effective. Adding expert support for practices to a basic education and feedback strategy reduced average doses by just 6%, but did seem to foster more patient-centred assessments | JAMA Network Open, USA
Efficacy of Social Norm Interventions on Addictive Behaviours—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials
[Open access] Normative interventions aim to prevent substance use by comparing the recipient’s use to their often exaggerated assumptions about how common use is among their peers, a strategy described as “the great hope for school- and college-based prevention”. A synthesis of results from 37 trials mainly among US college students found that six months later small initial impacts had faced into statistical insignificance | Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Confronting alcohol harm and tackling inequalities: guest blog post from the Alcohol Health Alliance
The Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) is a coalition of more than 250 organisations, convened by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), which campaigns for a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities. This blog post from the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) is part of a series by IHA member organisations | RCP blog, UK
How can genetics help assess the potential harms of moderate drinking?
Is drinking a moderate amount of alcohol bad for you? Answering questions about potential causal effects in humans is difficult. If you want to know what factors affect the lifespan of a lightbulb, your task is simple: get a few hundred lightbulbs, and start experimenting | IAS blog, UK