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Daily news - 4th April 2025 |
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UK news
Pregnancy smoking rates as high as 25% - report
Up to 25% of women in certain areas of Bradford smoke while pregnant, a new report (PDF) suggests. The document, provided by the Action on Smoking and Health charity, said smoking had a "disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations" in the district | BBC, UK
Doctors urge government to fight poverty after rise in patients with Victorian diseases
Survey finds vast majority of doctors are concerned at impact of health inequalities on their patients | Guardian, UK
'I turned my back on drugs to rehabilitate others'
A woman who was prosecuted for supplying cocaine to friends has said she has been supported to swap her "chaotic" former lifestyle for one in which she can now help rehabilitate other offenders | BBC, UK
Celebrating Employability and Entrepreneurship: The Forward Trust’s Annual Dragon’s Den Event
In collaboration with the Financial Times, The Forward Trust’s enterprise team hosted their second ever ‘Dragon’s Den Event’ on Thursday 3rd April 2025 at the Financial Times offices in London. The event featured three of Forward’s enterprise clients who each pitched their own business to a panel of ‘dragons’, which included Forward’s Chair of Trustees, Tony Adams | Forward Trust, UK
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones elected as next Registrar
Professor Owen Bowden-Jones has been elected the next Registrar of the Royal College of Psychiatrists – in a ballot which saw a turnout of 19.4% (3,303 votes) – in an election which had six impressive contenders | RCPsych, UK
Dr Rob Calder talks about his new role as CEO
The SSA’s Social Media Specialist, Jess Richmond, interviewed Rob Calder a few months into his new role as Chief Executive Officer. They discussed Rob’s 20-year career in addiction treatment and research, why it’s essential to learn from people with lived experience, and how the SSA’s addiction-specific funding is helping to build the next generation of academic leaders | SSA, UK
Drugs: Prosecutions
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions has there been for illegal drug possession in the last 12 months | They work for you, UK
Report finds more drugs entering women's prison
A high turnover of prisoners at a women's prison in Derbyshire has resulted in more drug use and prisoner violence, inspectors have said | BBC, UK
Man admits killing boy and man in drug lab blast
Archie York, seven, and Jason Laws, 35, died in the blast in Violet Close, Benwell, Newcastle, on 16 October last year | BBC, UK
International news
Safer nicotine product taxation and optimal strategies for public health
This Briefing Paper examines the current global situation regarding the taxation of safer nicotine products (SNP) and how this relates to product accessibility, before offering evidence-based policy recommendations for optimal taxation strategies in support of harm reduction goals and public health. Our primary focus is on nicotine vapes (e-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTP) as these are the two dominant SNP categories with the most extensive data available. However, conclusions drawn here may apply to other SNP as well | GSTHR, UK
US health agency layoffs gut mine safety, infertility and smoking programs
Thousands lost jobs as sweeping cuts reshape public health, leaving experts and lawmakers scrambling | Guardian, UK
In South Africa, a needle exchange program for drug users feels the effects of Trump's aid cuts
A secluded corner surrounded by litter and makeshift structures on the outskirts of South Africa´s capital is home to dozens of people with drug addiction. They inject themselves and each other with heroin-laden mixtures, some of them sharing needles | Mail Online, UK
Eliminating Hepatitis C in Europe: A Report on Policy Implementation for People Who Inject Drugs. Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe 2024
The latest report in the 2024 Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe series explores developments in hepatitis C care for people who inject drugs, based on observations from C-EHRN focal points in 40 cities across 35 European countries. The findings point to trends such as expanded access to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), ongoing healthcare stigma, and disparities in harm reduction funding. To gain further insights into this year’s report, we spoke with primary author Tuukka Tammi | C-EHRN, The Netherlands
Trump’s tariffs could soon flood Europe with cheap alcohol
“If excess alcohol originally bound for the US floods the European market, it could push prices down,” warns Florence Berteletti of Eurocare | Euractiv, Belgium
Study finds one in five US adults use multiple drugs, revealing new patterns in substance use
A study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reveals that nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults have used multiple drugs in the past year, showing that substance use is fairly common and more complex than just using one drug at a time. The study was published last week in the American Journal of Public Health | Medical Xpress, USA
NIH trial demonstrates AI's effectiveness in opioid use disorder care
An artificial intelligence (AI)-driven screening tool, developed by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team, successfully identified hospitalized adults at risk for opioid use disorder and recommended referral to inpatient addiction specialists. The AI-based method was just as effective as a health provider-only approach in initiating addiction specialist consultations and recommending monitoring of opioid withdrawal | News Medical, USA
Packaging of Cannabis Edibles, Health Warning Recall, and Perceptions Among Young Adults
This cross-sectional study on the features of cannabis packaging included 4500 young adults and found that plain packaging was significantly associated with increased odds of correct warning recall, decreased product appeal, and increased perceived harm and that youth-appealing packaging was associated with increased product appeal. Health claims were significantly associated with increased product appeal | JAMA Network Open, USA
A failed fragile X syndrome drug can reduce cocaine use, clinical trial finds
A team of pharmaceutical researchers at Novartis Biomedical Research, working with an international team of associates, has found that the drug mavoglurant can reduce use in people with cocaine use disorder. In their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the group conducted a Phase II clinical trial with 68 people with a diagnosed cocaine use disorder | Medical Xpress, USA
Despite Court Win, Few Consumption Sites Saved From Ontario Shutdown
Harm reduction advocates in Ontario succeeded in winning a court injunction against a new provincial law barring supervised consumption sites from operating within 200 meters of a school or daycare—a requirement that had meant at least 10 of Ontario’s 17 sites faced closure by March 31 | Filter Magazine, USA
San Francisco limits access to drug-use supplies: Will it help, or make things even worse?
San Francisco will no longer allow the distribution of safe drug use supplies, including sterile syringes and smoking kits, unless the outfits distributing the supplies offer counseling services or connect recipients to services, the Mayor’s Office announced on Wednesday | Mission Local, USA
Hitting the target: Imaging reveals psilocybin's neural odyssey
Cornell researchers have identified a pair of key neurological mechanisms in the brain—a cell type and receptor—that enable the psychedelic compound's long-lasting effects | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
STIGMA SERIES: Stigma and Alcohol-Related Brain Damage (ARBD)
In this blog, Leeanne MacPherson and Dr Ben Chetcuti from the NHS mental health, alcohol and drug liaison team in Ayrshire and Arran, share their experiences of working with alcohol-related brain damage patients and the various ways these service users can be stigmatised through their treatment journeys | SHAAP blog, UK
Time to levy the indefensible profits of Big Tobacco – to fund health measures and spur growth
In this blog, Mark Lloyd - Head of Policy at the RSA and former economic and fiscal policy in HM Treasury and No10 - sets how to effectively levy Big Tobacco to support economic growth and the government’s missions on fixing the NHS and achieving a smoke free Britain | SMF blog, UK
My husband overdosed on fentanyl. Cruel immigration policies won’t fix the crisis
I desperately want to find a solution to the fentanyl crisis. Unfortunately, all Trump’s talk about fixing it is smoke and mirrors | Guardian, UK
Policies that single out pregnant people’s drinking aren’t working, but there are other policies that appear to help
Most states in the United States have had one or more pregnancy-specific alcohol policies (government policies that single-out pregnant people’s alcohol consumption) for decades. But, until recently, there has been very little research about the effects of these policies | IAS blog, UK
One stone - two birds
The UK locks up more people than any country in Europe, with the exception only of Belarus. In Europe prisons are emptying and closing. Here, although they keep building them, they are massively over crowded. Often two to a small cell, built for one, with a shared toilet, or maybe a bucket, crammed in. Some prisoners are locked up like this for 23 hours a day | Anyone's child blog, UK
US Study Highlights How Drug Criminalisation Prevents Care
A recent report from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) explores the interrelated issues of addiction, mental health and homelessness, looking at how they can be addressed through health and social programmes and interventions. “From Crisis to Care” is a reminder of how the most common challenges faced by everyone – from financial struggles, precarious work, to unstable housing – are exacerbated when someone has mental health disabilities or substance use disorders. We spoke with Aliza Cohen, DPA’s Research Coordinator and the report’s author to understand more of the report and the motivations behind its publication | Talking Drugs, UK
Heroin found in cocaine and ‘ice’, and snorting a line can be lethal
Authorities in New South Wales and Victoria have been warning the public about worrying cases of heroin overdoses after people thought they had taken cocaine or methamphetamine | Conversation, Australia