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Daily news - 20th September 2024

UK news

Addiction group working to beat cultural stigma

A drug and alcohol rehabilitation group has welcomed an increase in people from harder-to-reach communities using its services. Peterborough-based Aspire has expanded its work with religious groups, community centres and local radio station Salaam Radio to beat "cultural stigma" surrounding drug and alcohol use within South Asian communities | BBC, UK

Representations of ‘risky’ drinking during pregnancy on Mumsnet: A discourse analysis

[Open access] Online forums provide an environment for peer discussions to anonymously share experiences about sensitive topics. In this article we explore discussions about alcohol use during pregnancy, including representations of ‘appropriate’ behaviour and risks, in relation to alcohol use | Addiction, UK

Pharmacist protest to hit contraception and anti-smoking services

Morning-after pill access is among services likely to be affected if pharmacists support 'work-to-rule' action amid a row over funding | i news, UK

'I manage my pain': Addictive drug prescription rates drop

Prescriptions of some addictive medications used to treat chronic pain and anxiety have fallen over the past 10 years in Northern Ireland, BBC News NI can reveal | BBC, UK

Hartlepool family share their story of loss for stop-smoking TV advert

A family from Hartlepool are fronting a 'quit smoking' campaign after experiencing their own loss as a result of the habit | ITV, UK

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to either (1) extending, or (2) making permanent, the wine temporary easement period in order to meet the core principles outlined in The new alcohol duty system consultation, which ran from 27 October 2021 to 30 January 2022, to make the alcohol duty system (a) simpler, (b) more economically rational, and (c) less administratively burdensome | They work for you, UK

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the outcome to the consultation The new alcohol duty system, which ran from 27 October 2021 to 30 January 2022, has met the stated core principles by making the system (1) simpler, (2) more economically rational, and (3) less administratively burdensome on businesses | They work for you, UK

Parties, brothels and drugs plague holiday let neighbours, say MPs

Problems in areas from Cornwall to Keswick have led to calls for new laws to licence holiday let landlords as well as a cap on numbers | BBC, UK

Footballer in court after £600,000 of cannabis seized at UK airport

Professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in court after he was charged with orchestrating the attempted importation of drugs | BBC, UK

Police seize vapes worth £1m found behind hidden door

They were discovered at the vape shop on Rugby Street in Cheetham Hill in the joint raid by police, Salford City Council and Trading Standards officers on Monday | BBC, UK

International news

Harm Reduction: Hope in Practice with Sheila Vakharia = Podcast

Sheila Vakharia of the Drug Policy Alliance, author of The Harm Reduction Gap, discusses the development and aims of harm reduction, and hope as a practice | Drugs Uncut, UK

Pennsylvania governor, 51, denied drink purchase after forgetting to bring ID

Josh Shapiro tried to celebrate law allowing convenience store sales of canned boozy drinks but left empty-handed | Guardian, UK

Minister Burke announces funding of €2.3 million to sustain community-based drugs services and to support people in recovery

Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke has today announced the allocation of funding of €1.5 million to sustain existing community-based drugs services and €800,000 (per annum over four years, a total of €3.2 million) to support the recovery of people from drug dependency | HSE, Ireland

HSE warns of ‘risky’ drug market as ‘nearly double’ MDMA doses found in pills at Electric Picnic

The HSE has expressed concern over the “volatile and risky” market for drugs after MDMA pills tested at Electric Picnic last month were found to have “nearly double” the average adult dose | Irish Independent, Ireland

70% of inmates are drug addicts as prison officials launch crackdown on narcotics behind bars

Authorities have begun to implement a full programme of random and intelligence-led testing in Irish prisons | Irish Mirror, Ireland

Merchants Quay Ireland annual report 2023

Merchants Quay Ireland CLG (“MQI”) is incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and not having share capital. It was registered on 12 July 1991 with Company number 176421. MQI is registered for the charitable purpose of promoting health and to provide the stepping-stones for every point of a man or woman’s journey out of homelessness and addiction, and toward a drug free life. MQI provides services ranging from crisis intervention and health promotion services to day-support programmes, residential detox and rehabilitation, and prison-based counselling | Merchants Quay, Ireland

Taking prevention training to frontline workers across Europe

Prevention training for frontline workers is set to expand across Europe thanks to a Cooperation Agreement being signed today by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and HOGENT University's Research Centre for Substance Use and Psychosocial Risk Behaviours. The 10-year agreement is being signed in Ghent by EUDA Executive Director, Alexis Goosdeel, and General Director of HOGENT, Koen Goethals | EUDA, Portugal

[Open access] Support from former problem substance users is important in many treatment services, partly because it is thought 'peers' can relate well to patients. This study teased out what is most closely linked to the quality of those relationships. Topping the list were the patient's perceptions that the peer was similar to them in age, relationships with family, spirituality/religion, and recovery pathway | Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, USA

More than three-quarters of US states have enacted laws to guide use of opioid litigation proceeds

As of December 1, 2023, 40 states have laws regulating the use of opioid litigation proceeds, a 25% increase from the 32 states that had enacted laws as of August 2022, according to new data published by the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Beasley School of Law | Medical Xpress, USA

Ecstasy-Laced Beauty Drinks Lead 4 People in Bali to Face the Death Penalty

Four people who were arrested on drug charges in Bali may be facing execution. The case includes both the alleged sellers and would-be buyers, who never even received the drugs | VICE, USA

More than half of people who use party drugs take ADHD medicines without a prescription, new research shows

In a sample of people who regularly use ecstasy and other illicit stimulants, 54% reported using pharmaceutical stimulants without a prescription in the previous six months | UNSW, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

A breath of fresh air - towards a smokefree nation

Blog post from Councillor David Fothergill as he looks back at the introduction of the smokefree workplaces and indoor public spaces legislation in 2007, local government’s successful role and how it continues to be seen as a watershed moment for public health | LGA, UK

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