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Daily news - 16th October 2024 |
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UK news
MPs, smoking survivors and bereaved families gather in Parliament to back Tobacco and Vapes Bill
At the inaugural meeting of the newly formed APPG on Smoking and Health, smoking survivors and bereaved families heard from the Minister for Public Health on the Government’s bold plans to create a Smokefree country. This includes re-introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Parliament which will raise the age of sale annually, ensuring no one born after 2009 will ever be legally be sold tobacco, alongside vital measures to curb youth vaping | ASH, UK
Former Blair adviser calls for higher taxes on fuel and alcohol
Rachel Reeves should increase taxes on fuel and alcohol in her Budget to help fund a “decade of renewal” in public services, a former No 10 adviser has said | i news, UK
Health Services: Sleeping Rough
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve coordination between health services and homelessness support organisations to tackle the healthcare needs of rough sleepers with (a) substance misuse and (b) mental health challenges | They work for you, UK
The draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Naloxone and Transfers of Functions) Regulations 2024
I beg to move That the draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Naloxone and Transfers of Functions) Regulations 2024 be approved | They work for you, UK
'I drank 20 cans a day, now I help other addicts'
"If it wasn't for Horizons, I'd be dead," says Kev Rafferty, who credits the drug and alcohol support charity for saving his life | BBC, UK
Believe in People podcast - episode 50
Join Matt as he sits down with Emma, who candidly shares her journey through addiction, beginning with her exposure to drugs at the age of 11. Influenced by her father’s addiction and her grandmother’s role as a local drug dealer, Emma’s substance use quickly escalated - from experimenting with ecstasy and amphetamines to becoming dependent on heroin and crack cocaine by the time she was 23 | CGLHull, UK
Charities Suffer From APPG Rule Changes
Charities are struggling to adapt to the “very difficult” process of establishing an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) following recent rule changes | Politics Home, UK
Warning binned vapes and batteries sparking fires
Durham County Council said one of its refuse workers had described seeing flames as high as 15ft (4.6m) when a lorry caught fire when he was on his rounds | BBC, UK
'Serious concerns' about drug use in 'super prison'
The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said Five Wells Prison, in Northamptonshire, was struggling to stop illicit items being brought or thrown into the grounds | BBC, UK
International news
Activists press for safer hard drugs in unusual legal challenge
Two Canadians activists who illegally sold untainted hard drugs in an effort to reduce fatal overdoses have launched a legal challenge to federal drug laws | BBC, UK
Singapore: Drugs, rehab, execution, part 2 - video
Singapore’s drug laws are severe. The penalties for trafficking illegal narcotics range from a prison term to execution. The government argues its zero-tolerance policy towards drugs, including cannabis, is an effective deterrent to those tempted to get involved in this illicit trade. Since March 2022, when executions resumed in Singapore after Covid, twenty people have been hanged – all but one of them for drug-related offences. In the second of a two-part series, Linda Pressly explores how the law on trafficking is applied, meets the sister of a man who was hung after a heroin conviction, and learns that it is also illegal for a Singaporean to consume drugs overseas | BBC, UK
Understanding the mechanisms of change in social norms around tobacco use: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions
Tobacco use spreads through social networks influencing social norms around tobacco use. However, the social norms scholarship is extremely diverse and occasionally conflicting, complicating efforts to understand how best to leverage social norms to reduce tobacco use. This study systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed this vast terrain by focusing on social norms measurement and mechanism, and intervention effectiveness and modality aimed at changing social norms around tobacco use and actual tobacco use | Addiction, UK
Voices of Hope and Courage
Wednesday, November 6 · 7 - 9pm GMT. Exploring healing from alcohol harm in the home through music and stories | Alcohol Action Ireland, Ireland
Building future-proof early-warning systems in Latin American and Caribbean countries through foresight training
This week, the EUDA is organising an online event focusing on building future-proof early warning systems in Latin American and Caribbean countries through foresight training and capacity building | EUDA, Portugal
Adolescent Drug Overdose Fatalities May Have Decreased in 2023
Overall adolescent drug fatalities and the annual increase in deaths involving fentanyl slowed down in 2023 compared with 2022, with overall drug fatalities declining slightly and deaths involving fentanyl only increasing by 2% compared with 177% in the first year of the pandemic | AJMC, USA
Seizures caused by children swallowing medications or illegal substances doubled over 15-year period, poison data show
The most common substances involved in these poisonings include over-the-counter antihistamines, prescription antidepressants and painkillers, and illegal synthetic cannabinoids | Medical Xpress, USA
Fighting the opioid epidemic: AI and optimization model leads to equitable treatment resource distribution
The opioid epidemic is a crisis that has plagued the United States for decades. One central issue of the epidemic is inequitable access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), which puts certain populations at a higher risk of opioid overdose | Medical Xpress, USA
Application of SBIRT Tools in Managing Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders
Medical patients at a hospital in Russia were screened for drug use and risky drinking using a novel ‘interactive voice response’ program, whose artificial voice also delivered a selection of motivational messages depending on the screening results – a minimal-resource technology which study authors hoped will expand such interventions to more patients | PubMed, USA
Why a Psychedelics Campaign in Washington State Stands Out
What comes next for the “psychedelic renaissance”? Massachusetts has a decriminalization and limited legalization measure on the November ballot. Comparable models are meanwhile coming into focus in Oregon and Colorado, where they were previously approved by voters. But high on the list of frontline campaigns to watch over the coming year is one in Washington State | Filter Magazine, USA
Tapering Off Methadone Without a Clinic, in Just Two Years and 13 Rehabs
Since early 2023, I’ve been surfing my way across what feels like every New Jersey substance use treatment facility that takes Medicaid. In that time I’ve worked my way down from 140 mg methadone per day to 60 mg. I’m about to check in to lucky number 13, which will hopefully be the last one before I get down to 30 mg and make the jump to buprenorphine | Filter Magazine, USA
Reassessing ayahuasca regulation in Brazil: strategic framing and cumulative gains
In the early twentieth century, ayahuasca gained popularity in northern Brazil, causing political tension due to moral hostility. However, over the course of the century, despite the proscription of DMT and the intensification of the ‘War on Drugs’, three phases of cumulative political gains eventually led to the full regulation of ayahuasca, in 2010. How was this achieved? | DEPP, USA
Blogs, comment anfd opinion
Kids No Longer Smoke Cigarettes. Why Aren’t We Celebrating?
The decrease in cigarette smoking among American youths is one of the great public health triumphs of the present century. Yet, few people are talking about it. Public health agencies and tobacco control organizations mention it, if at all, in passing. Media coverage is minimal. Should we not be shouting it from the mountaintops? | AJPH, USA
I Bought and Tested a Bunch of Gas Station Drugs With Names Like "Tweaker"
In our teens and twenties, my friends and I took our fair share of sketchy gas station drugs. We particularly enjoyed ephedrine, small white pills marketed as asthma medication — except they were sold in bulk right by the cashier, and everyone knew they were actually cheap speed | Ben Westhoff, USA
Authentic Vs. Astroturfed Recovery Events & Recovery Marketing
Authentic was a term used often and broadly a decade ago when efforts to expand recovery community organizations, elevate recovery through public facing events organized by and for recovery community, and peer support services were gaining traction in America | Recovery Review blog, USA