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Daily news - 16th September 2024

UK news

Young people addicted to ketamine a national problem, says UK expert

Situation potentially fuelled by people unable to access mental health services self-medicating, clinic founder says | Guardian, UK

An 'alcohol health champions' intervention to reduce alcohol harm in local communities: a mixed-methods evaluation of a natural experiment

With the Royal Society for Public Health, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority aimed to recruit and train 35 volunteer alcohol health champions in each of its 10 areas. Among their roles was to offer brief advice to risky drinkers and to influence licensing decisions. It was a bold experiment, but not enough to significantly reduce alcohol-related harm | NIHR, UK

Scottish Parliament - Drugs and Alcohol - video

Statement in Holyrood on the government's plans to 'reduce deaths and improve lives of people impacted by drugs and alcohol', from Thursday 12 September | BBC, UK

Alcohol advertising could be curbed in response to rising drink deaths

It comes after figures showed Scotland’s drug deaths remain the worst in Europe | STV News, UK

Smoking: Hospitality Industry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has carried out impact assessments of the Government’s plans to ban (a) smoking and (b) vaping (i) in pub gardens, (ii) at outdoor restaurant tables, (iii) at outdoor shisha bar seating and (iv) in outdoor nightclubs | They work for you, UK

David Seaman on football’s drinking culture, friends' struggles with alcohol and having more conversations about drinking

Legendary England goalkeeper David Seaman, a moderate drinker himself, has supported friends over the years with their drinking and now he’s backing Drinkaware’s campaign, encouraging people to have more conversations about their drinking by taking the Drinking Check - a free online alcohol quiz | drinkaware, UK

Addiction services unlikely to hit target

A city's drugs and alcohol services are failing to get enough addicts into treatment and could face financial penalties | BBC, UK

New meadow to aid recovering addicts

A new meadow is being created outside a Leicestershire drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre to help aid peoples' recovery | BBC, UK

2024 Recovery Street Film Festival Shortlist - videos

Watch the fifteen short-listed videos for this year's competition | RSFF, UK

Tory MP calls for crackdown on shisha lounges

Bob Blackman said failing to include shisha lounges and chewing tobacco, such as paan, in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill would leave ‘escape clauses’. | Independent, UK

Officer uses fast-acting drug to save man

A Wolverhampton police officer is thought to be the first in the city to administer a fast-acting drug which helps people experiencing an overdose | BBC, UK

High society: art, artists and the global role of drugs in culture

A new season of exhibitions in Norwich examines our ancient, complex and often destructive relationship with mind-altering substances, and asks what their ubiquity tells us about human nature | Guardian, UK

Four men charged after one tonne of cocaine intercepted on fishing boat off Cornish coast

NCA officers seized the drugs after the boat was stopped at sea near Newquay on Friday afternoon, in what the force described as a “huge loss” for an organised crime group | ITV, UK

Organised crime group sentenced after drugs bust

Swansea Crown Court heard that the gang set up "front" businesses including car washes and a barber's shop in an attempt to hide their criminal enterprise in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion | BBC, UK

International news

'Substantial increase' in drugs coming into Ireland

Drug seizures at ports, airports, and mail centres in the Republic of Ireland have more than doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the Irish Revenue Service | BBC, UK

Brussels’ first consumption centre aims to keep drugs off streets of EU capital

Since opening its doors a stone's throw from the Brussels South train station, GATE, the first safe drug consumption space in the Belgian capital, has provided refuge and hope to the rising number of crack cocaine addicts in Brussels | Yahoo, UK

Over 40kg of cocaine found in banana deliveries to French supermarkets

Police seek to identify intended recipient after drugs found under pallets at four Grand Frais stores | Guardian, UK

‘They died because they tried it once’: a US high school was ravaged by fentanyl - and came back from the brink

In Orange county, a former police officer spent years working with students and parents to prevent drug overdoses. When the fentanyl crisis hit, their work was tested in heartbreaking new ways | Guardian, UK

[Open access] Interviews with managers of US needle exchanges conducted in 2022 suggest these services remain ( as a review published 20 years ago put it) ‘set up to fail’ due to regulatory restrictions and underfunding | SSM, USA

Health Warnings on Instagram Advertisements for Synthetic Nicotine E-Cigarettes and Engagement

In this cross-sectional study of 2071 Instagram posts for 25 synthetic nicotine brands, only 263 posts (13%) adhered to FDA health warning requirements. Posts advertising flavored products received more likes and comments, and those with health warnings received fewer comments, indicating that compliance with FDA guidelines reduces user engagement | JAMA Network Open, USA

Schools are putting vape detectors in bathrooms — paid for by Juul

E-cigarette use among young people in the U.S. dropped significantly over the past year, according to a new government study. The hopeful signs come as more schools are installing high-tech vape detectors in bathrooms and locker rooms to curb student use of e-cigarettes | npr, USA

Fentanyl still deadliest drug in Florida as overall deaths decline and another synthetic drug rises

The number of Floridians who died from drugs last year decreased across the state, but one synthetic drug was noticeably on the rise and fentanyl is still the deadliest drug of all, according to a statewide report released this summer | Medical Xpress, USA

Millions of depressed Americans could benefit from psychedelic therapy, study finds

In the wake of mounting evidence for the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering approving psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," for treating depression in the near future. As this watershed moment approaches, a critical question arises: Just how many people might stand to benefit from this promising but still unproven therapy? | Medical Xpress, USA

Using AI, researchers find e-cigarette brands are skirting the rules about health warning labels on Instagram

Island breeze, blue lagoon, dew drop—these aren't the names of scented candles on display at your local home goods store. They're flavors of synthetic nicotine used in e-cigarettes, often advertised with neon-electric colors and bright lettering to make them look like boxes of candy or fruit juice. But underneath all the flair, a specific label written clearly in black text on a white background is required by law to be there: a warning that says the product contains nicotine and that nicotine is an addictive substance | Medical Xpress, USA

Overdose Response Training Should Teach the Jaw Thrust Maneuver

I’ve been using fentanyl and other opioids, off and on, for the past 15 years. I’ve experienced a lot of close calls from overdose, and I’ve responded to my share of them, too. Luckily I’ve been able to revive everyone so far, the way others have been able to revive me, but I know a lot of people who died because no one was there to help them breathe again | Filter Magazine, USA

Cannabis Use Among Older Adults Almost Doubles in Three Years

A new study supported by AARP shows that marijuana use by older people in the United States has nearly doubled in the last three years—with most saying they use cannabis to relieve pain, help with sleep, improve mental health and achieve other benefits | Filter Magazine, USA