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Daily news - 12th December 2025 |
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UK news
Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2025
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 8.7% of people aged 16 to 59 years (around 2.9 million people) reported using any drug in the last 12 months for the year ending (YE) March 2025; there was no statistically significant change compared with YE March 2024. Drug use was higher among people aged 16 to 24 years, with 15.1% reporting any use in the last 12 months; although there was no statistically significant change compared with the previous year, there has been a general downward trend in this age group since its peak in YE December 1997 (31.8%). Around 2.0% of people were frequent drug users (more than once a month) | ONS, UK
Opiate and crack cocaine use: prevalence estimates 2022 to 2023
Estimates of the number and rates of people using opiates and/or crack cocaine (OCU) in England between April 2022 and March 2023. The estimated total number of OCU for 2022 to 2023 in England is 310,718 | DHSC and UKHSA, UK
Policy briefing: alcohol
The briefing sets out the range of evidence-based actions that could be taken to prevent and reduce harm from alcohol, building on the progress that has been made through minimum unit pricing. We expect these actions, taken together, could reverse current trends in terms of harm from alcohol, and would reduce the burden that alcohol-related conditions place on our health and social care services | Pubic Health Scotland, UK
Three die in north London borough from new synthetic opioid as expert warns: 'We are staring into the abyss'
Cychlorphine is thought to be 100 times stronger than heroin | Evening Standard, UK
Gen K: The ketamine crisis destroying young lives - video
A short documentary investigating the impacts of ketamine abuse on young people and their families | ITV, UK
Minimum alcohol pricing (MUP) revenue: FOI release - questions asked
1. What additional money is added to the price of each bottle of spirits, wine and beer/lager and cider for consumers in Scotland over the same item of alcohol sold to customers in England and elsewhere in the UK? 2. How much revenue could be created for the Government of the people of Scotland, (to invest in this country’s community services), if a decision was made by the Scottish Government to divert the additional increase in price for Scotland’s alcohol sales, from the selling supermarkets and alcohol off-sales sellers to the Scottish Taxpayers? | Scottish Government, UK
2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme consultation
The consultation on the proposed 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme is open until the end of 16 December 2025. This consultation allows you to say whether you accept or reject the proposed Payment Scheme, and give reasons for your choice. It also gives you the opportunity to provide feedback on specific policy areas covered by the consultation notice | NHS England, UK
Addiction in later life: breaking the stigma
Often a complex and highly misunderstood disorder, addiction can affect any individual, no matter their age, gender, birthplace, or culture | Silver Magazine, UK
Responsible advertising: illegal drugs references
“Need drugs to get you through Christmas?” Avoid any reference to illegal drugs to avoid tripping up on the rules around responsibility. Any references, however veiled and obscure, to illegal drugs, are likely to breach the Code. Even if they are a common reference point in the target audience, or they might not offend those who see the ad, mentioning illegal drugs suggests you condone or even encourage their use | ASA, UK
Report calls for ‘decisive action’ from Police Scotland in Scotland’s drug crisis
A major inspection has called on Police Scotland to set out a clear policy on drug harm reduction amid what it describes as “one of the most severe public health crises in the developed world.“ | STV News, UK
Exploring views on drugs, alcohol, and support in Nottinghamshirenearthed Community Insight Survey
We want to better understand how people in your community view support for drug and alcohol use. Your answers are anonymous. We don’t collect personal details. The information you share will only be used to help us identify unmet needs and improve support services in our community. Please take a few minutes to complete our short survey | Unearthed, UK
The Elms: The UK's first women-only detox centre
Women struggling with drug and alcohol dependence in the UK are facing a devastating gap in care. Despite clear evidence that women’s experience of substance use differs from men and requires gender-specific support, there are currently no dedicated detox facilities exclusively for women in the UK. We’re changing this | VIA, UK
Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling and Marketing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the publication Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023, and pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025, to Question 41063, on Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling and Marketing, whether the Government intends to publish a response to the 2023 consultation | They work for you, UK
'My dad was killed by a drug-driver. Now I want tougher laws'
Families whose relatives were killed by drug-drivers are demanding police are given new powers to revoke licences at the roadside if they suspect a motorist is over the limit | BBC, UK
The secret £3.5m cannabis farm that stood out like a 'beacon' in sleepy village
When Edward McCann moved from Portsmouth to a farm in rural west Wales, he started growing cannabis, claiming it was only a small amount to help with his leukaemia | BBC, UK
'Sophisticated' cannabis farm found under motorway
A "sophisticated" cannabis farm has been discovered by road maintenance workers in a boarded-up drainage culvert beneath a motorway | BBC, UK
International news
No guarantee tobacco tax cut would lure Australian smokers from illegal trade and raise more revenue, report says
New research points to need for ‘holistic approach to combating illicit tobacco’ including having support of health advocates | Guardian, UK
The online wellness clinics letting customers ‘add to cart’ experimental peptides without a doctor consult
The growing market for injectable peptides includes many schedule 4 drugs that are not yet approved for use in Australia but can be prescribed by a doctor | Guardian, UK
Crime solving agency sounds warning over 'rising threat' of synthetic opioid drugs in 2024
The State agency tasked with identifying illicit drugs has sounded a warning over “the rising threat” of synthetic opioid drugs, after identifying 10 new drug substances or unusual presentations of drugs last year | Breaking News, Ireland
EUDA Management Board meets to shape priorities and partnerships for 2026 and beyond
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) Management Board is meeting in Lisbon this week, where it is addressing a range of strategic, operational and governance issues that will shape the future of the agency | EUDA, Portugal
Cannabis edibles pose major crash risk
More than 75% of recreational cannabis users aged 19 to 30 crashed in a driving simulation after consuming edibles, a new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study shows | Medical Xpress, USA
Will U.S. military strikes slow drug overdose deaths? Experts say no
The U.S. military has carried out at least 22 attacks on suspected drug boats so far this year, leaving more than 80 people dead, according to an analysis by NPR. During a speech this week in Pennsylvania, President Trump said the strikes are making Americans safer | NEPM, USA
White House Says President Trump Has Made ‘No Final Decisions’ Around Marijuana Rescheduling
A report stating that the administration is close to reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug—on par with mild painkillers—has the $32 billion industry hotly anticipating reform | Forbes, USA
Cannabis Retailer Advice on Blunt, Tobacco, and Cannabis Use During Pregnancy
These findings suggest that most cannabis retailers advised against prenatal tobacco use, but fewer did for cannabis, highlighting the need for better retailer education and consumer information | JAMA Network Open, USA
The Lives of People Who Use Nicotine Are Not an “Endgame”
Public health was never supposed to be a game. It’s a promise: to protect life, reduce suffering and honor every person in the process. That’s the only kind of result worth reaching. I’m tired of the nicotine space feeling like a war game, consumed with strategic maneuvering. Why can’t we see that the tally is made up of tombstones? | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
How misinformation may be fuelling teen vaping
In the UK, schools are reporting a surge in young people struggling with dependence, including cases of students needing medical attention after vaping in class. In the Netherlands, researchers have found that many teenagers wake up at night specifically to vape, a sign of growing nicotine addiction in adolescents | Conversation, UK