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Daily news - 18th August 2025 |
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UK news
Booze up: is gen Z’s ‘sensible’ relationship with alcohol moving towards hedonism?
Reports those born between 1997 and 2012 are ditching clean-living ways don’t tell whole story, say experts | Guardian, UK
Navigating surveillance: The experience of prenatal women who use or who are in treatment for using drugs
[Open access] There is little knowledge of how women who use and are in treatment for using drugs in the perinatal period experience multidisciplinary services prenatally. This study used qualitative longitudinal methods to explore women’s experiences of care in four sites in England and Scotland | British Journal of Social Work, UK
Young people and stopping vaping
With the number of young people reporting using nicotine vapes on the rise, including those who have never smoked, health and social care professionals, teachers, and youth workers need guidance on how to address these concerns. This new section of the NCSCT website provides information, resources and guidance on stopping vaping for those working with young people | NCSCT, UK
Evaluation of the National Drugs Mission – Follow-up Frontline staff survey
Public Health Scotland have been asked to evaluate the Scottish Government's Nation Mission on Drug Deaths. The survey will help understand whether the National Mission has changed the experience of working in alcohol and drug services. The survey is open to all individuals who are currently working in frontline alcohol and drug services in Scotland | Public Health Scotland, UK
Is lowering the drink-driving limit a good move or could it bring the demise of the country pub?
There has been a mixed response to Government plans to lower the drink-driving limit in England and Wales | Morning Advertiser, UK
Inverness mum tells how drugs and alcohol rehabilitation charity CrossReach saved her from ‘losing everything’ to addiction – with a little help from her seven-year-old son
On Thursday last week, as the charity CrossReach welcomed Scottish drugs and alcohol policy minister Maree Todd to officially open a new £2.4 million, six-bed Nevis House extension to the residential rehabilitation centre, Vikki was there to see it. Only this time, rather than being a resident in crisis, she was present as a volunteer, one who helps fellow addicts on their own journey towards recovery | Inverness Courier, UK
Family launch addiction centre to honour The Vivienne
The family of The Vivienne has launched a support group for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction to honour the memory of the drag performer | BBC, UK
133. Psychedelic Ethics with Dr Edward Jacobs and Sam Bloomfield - podcast
In this episode of the Drug Science Podcast, we speak with Sam Bloomfield, founder of PsyEdu, and Dr. Eddie Jacobs, the first person to complete a doctorate in psychedelic ethics. Drawing on their backgrounds in education and ethics, they explore why these perspectives are essential to the evolving field of psychedelics | Drug Science, UK
Anti-gang scheme in Liverpool ‘boosts public confidence in police’
Scheme has led to 5,300 arrests and seizure of 630kg of Class A and B drugs, according to Merseyside police | Guardian, UK
'Any child can be exploited by county lines gangs'
Police have seized drugs worth £90,000 at York Railway Station in two days of action tackling county lines gangs | BBC, UK
Seizures of illegal vapes skyrocketing, BBC finds
Figures show Trading Standards departments in Sussex confiscated around 21,200 illicit vape products in 2024 – up from none in 2020. In Surrey, seizures rose from around 500 in 2020 to nearly 14,140 last year – a 28-fold increase. A government spokesperson said they recognised the challenges councils face in tackling the issue and that they supported them with "intelligence and testing" | BBC, UK
Police investigating Strictly 'drug use' claims
In a statement, the Met said it had "received an allegation about drug related offences". "Police are assessing the information and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed," it said | BBC, UK
‘I sold my home to HS2 for scrapped line for £1.2m – only for it to be turned into a cannabis factory’
Alan Wilkinson was horrified to discover that his former home had been taken over for the production of drugs | Independent, UK
International news
Naomi Burke-Shyne
Former Executive Director of Harm Reduction International and social justice advocate. Born on Nov 14, 1980, in Edmonton, AB, Canada, she died from cancer in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 20, 2025, aged 44 years | Lancet, UK
Marijuana shops sue New York after they were allowed to open too close to schools
A group of marijuana dispensaries in New York sued the state on Friday after cannabis regulators admitted they accidentally allowed pot shops to open too close to schools, putting the future of the businesses in jeopardy | Mail Online, UK
Effectiveness of screening and ultra-brief intervention for hazardous drinking in primary care: pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial
[Open access] A large, well conducted trial in Japan has joined the ranks of studies which do not find brief advice curbs drinking in patients attending for routine care. “The early promise of [alcohol screening and brief intervention] has not been borne out in subsequent trials of real world effectiveness,” said commentators who included the lead in the major UK trials | BMJ, UK
Safer opioid supply clients’ values and preferences: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative research
[Open access] Canada’s ‘safer supply’ services prescribe opioids with a view to harm reduction more than treatment of dependence, a traditional strategy in the UK. As well as drugs in the right form at the right time and in adequate doses, “A supportive, client-centred care environment was central to client satisfaction and sustained programme engagement.” | BMJ Mental Health, UK
How does marijuana affect our bodies?
Marijuana has been a hot topic for years, but one often clouded by misperceptions. Many turn to it as a perceived panacea, hoping it will address health issues or enhance their well-being if other options have fallen short. But what scientists are learning about weed's health effects might come as a surprise | Medical Xpress, USA
A common sight at concerts, nitrous oxide abuse is soaring, prompting health concerns
"We don't do it that often. It's funny for about 30 seconds," said a concertgoer outside Red Rocks Amphitheatre, who was preparing to inhale nitrous oxide from a balloon before The String Cheese Incident played there in mid-July. She requested anonymity for fear of job reprisal. "There's not really that much thought to it. It's a stupid drug. The dumbest out of them all." | Medical Xpress, USA
Little Cigar and Cigarillo Graphic Health Warnings and Quitting Behaviors
Do graphic health warnings (GHWs) on little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) improve intention to quit smoking and quitting behaviors? This 3-week randomized clinical trial of 1029 adults showed that those who smoked LCCs and were exposed to LCC GHWs reported significantly higher quitting behaviors compared with those exposed to existing US Food and Drug Administration text-only LCC warnings or a control condition | JAMA Network Open, USA
Nitazenes, the New Synthetic Opioids, Aren’t “More Deadly Than Fentanyl”
“Nitazenes” doesn’t refer to one specific substance, but to a group of substances that are chemically similar. The potency of different individual nitazenes, AKA nitazene analogs, varies quite a lot—the same way it does with fentanyl analogs. However, nitazenes tend to show up in extremely small quantities, piggybacking on fentanyl or some other drug that was ingested in larger quantities. They very rarely show up on their own | Filter Magazine, USA
“Ripple effects”? State cannabis legalization and overdose deaths among adolescents
Overdose deaths among teens has more than doubled since 2019. There are many contributing factors at individual, state, and national levels. This study investigated whether cannabis policies may partially explain the increase | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Effects of policies intended to reduce opioid overdose
A variety of opioid-related laws have been enacted to address the opioid overdose crisis. However, their impacts on actual rates of opioid overdose deaths are unclear. This study examined whether Narcan, Medicaid, and prescription monitoring policies reduced risk of opioid overdose death | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Ketamine use in chronic pain unsupported by evidence, review finds
The off-label use of ketamine to treat chronic pain is not supported by scientific evidence, a new Cochrane review has found | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Protect NHS tobacco dependence treatment services from funding cuts—a call from health leaders to NHS England
The 2019 NHS long term plan included a commitment to integrate smoking cessation support into hospital care. Starting in 2019, services began to be rolled out for pregnant women, as well as inpatients in mental health and acute care settings. These services are delivering results, with rates of smoking during pregnancy declining by 41% since 2019-20 following a period of stagnation. This means fewer stillbirths, miscarriages, and babies born with low birthweight and, as a result, fewer antenatal appointments, overnight hospital admissions, ultrasound scans, and shorter hospital stays postnatally. However, cuts to NHS budgets mean that these services have become vulnerable | BMJ opinion, UK
How the mafia infiltrated Germany
In the early hours of 15 August 2007, six young Italian men got into their cars after celebrating an 18th birthday at Da Bruno, a pizza restaurant in the city of Duisburg in western Germany. Out of the dark, masked gunmen sprayed their vehicles with 70 bullets, then shot each victim in the head, including the youngest, Fracensco Giorgi, aged 16. In the pocket of the dead birthday boy, Tommaso Venturi, police found a half-burnt image of Saint Michael | Unherd, UK
“An attempt to disappear people”: Experts Comment on Trump’s Plans to Defund Harm Reduction
One of Trump’s latest executive orders calls for a crackdown on homelessness, encouraging federal agencies to defund drug-related interventions and institutionalise those living on the streets. While the directive reportedly aims to protect public safety, drug policy experts are concerned that this will end up hurting more people than the current state of American drug policy | Talking Drugs, UK
The growing fad of ‘microdosing’ mushrooms is leading to an uptick in poison control center calls and emergency room visits
Imagine you purchase a bag of gummies labeled nootropic – a term used to describe substances that claim to enhance mental ability and function, or “smart drugs.” However, within hours of consuming them, your heart starts racing, you’re nauseated and vomiting. Then you begin convulsing and have a seizure, resulting in a trip to the hospital | Conversation, USA