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Daily news - 19th December 2025 |
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UK news
Breaking new ground: Local authority stop smoking services and wider tobacco control in England, 2025
New government investment has delivered expanded stop smoking services that are working hard to reach smokers in all communities and reduce health inequalities | ASH, UK
Better Oral Health for Adults in Scotland: Drugs and Oral Health
This resource has been designed to support oral health improvement activity for people who use or have used drugs. The resource was produced in collaboration with the Dental Public Health Team at the University of Dundee and Public Health Scotland | Public Health Scotland, UK
LGA responds to Local Government Public Health Grant
“We are pleased to see the grant bring together key funding streams for services including drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, support for rough sleepers; local stop smoking services; Individual Placement and Support, helping people with severe mental illness into work; and continued investment in the Swap to Stop scheme... | LGA, UK
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) for alcohol use disorder: An open-label, phase 2, proof-of-concept, clinical trial
[Open access] Psychedelic drugs may help treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study evaluated BPL-003, a novel intranasal powder formulation of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) benzoate salt, in people with moderate–severe AUD enrolled in a standard of care, 10-week programme of relapse-prevention oriented Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) | Addiction, UK
New 'gamechanging' spike detector technology that can tell if your vape has drugs in it to be trialed by police over Christmas
Officers have deployed a one-of-a-kind portable ‘vape testing kit’ designed by academics at the University of Bath to detect dangerous psychoactive substances in vapes | Mail Online, UK
Surrey rehab centre urges people not to use ketamine as admissions reach 'record-breaking highs'
The rehab near Guildford has said that nearly a third of residents at the centre are there for Ketamine addiction | Surrey Live, UK
Via achieves Hepatitis C micro-elimination across Cheshire West & Chester
Via’s drug and alcohol service in Cheshire West & Chester has reached a major public health milestone, with all three local hubs — Chester, Northwich and Ellesmere Port — officially achieving Hepatitis C micro-elimination | Via, UK
Reflecting on our Employee Resource Group Members Day
As the calendar year comes to a close, I am reflecting on our recent Employee Resource Group (ERG) Members Day. It was a day of celebration and recognition, bringing together staff from across different ERGs and from different levels of the organisation | Forward Trust, UK
Cannabis: What's the appeal? - video
We are joined by Lisa, a trainer within the Gwent N-Gage young person's service, to discuss all things cannabis. Lisa talks us through whether people can become dependent upon cannabis, the use of cali packs, the role of terpenes, and concentrated extracts such as shatter. We also break down the difference between THC and CBD, and look at the unique traits of indica and sativa cannabis plants, and how each influences the effects a person might experience. There’s also a look at the good and not-so-good effects cannabis can have, along with some insight into people’s experiences of Amsterdam | Barod, UK
Licensing Laws: Alcoholic Drinks
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85812, whether he plans to introduce his Department's proposed reforms to alcohol licensing through (a) legislative changes to the Licensing Act 2003 or (b) regulatory guidance | They work for you, UK
Essex facing a drug-driving pandemic, say police
More than 1,700 arrests have been made on suspicion of the offence in 2025, a rise from 971 the year prior | BBC, UK
Drug user convicted of killing dealer jailed
A cannabis user convicted of unlawfully killing a drug dealer who arrived at his home armed with a knife has been jailed for three years and seven months | BBC, UK
International news
Cocaine 'pouring' into Ireland to supply the Christmas market, gardaí say
Gardaí and customs seized 58kg of the drug during searches in Kildare and Wexford this week | Irish Examiner, Ireland
Trump signs order reclassifying marijuana as less dangerous
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he was signing an executive order reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, in one of America's biggest shifts in drug policy for years | Medical Xpress, USA
Researchers seek better, safer alternatives to current opioid drugs
Researchers at USF Health are making dramatic strides in understanding how new opioid compounds work inside the body to provide pain relief, offering greater hope that new classes of these drugs may eventually be used to relieve pain without potentially deadly side effects | Medical Xpress, USA
Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome found to have increased from 2012 to 2021
From 2012 to 2021, there was an increase in the prevalence of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) in Massachusetts, with the highest 10-year prevalence among young adults, Hispanic individuals, Black individuals, and men, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology | Medical Xpress, USA
Cannabis use rising fastest in disadvantaged and regional communities in Australia
People living in socially disadvantaged and regional areas of Australia are consuming significantly more cannabis than their counterparts in wealthier metropolitan towns and cities, a new study has found | Medical Xpress, USA
Most Americans still get nicotine wrong
Nicotine is the drug that keeps people coming back to cigarettes, but not the substance that causes serious health effects in people who use tobacco. It is the tar and toxic chemical mix in tobacco and tobacco smoke that causes cancer, lung disease and 490,000 deaths in the U.S. each year | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Minimum unit pricing works – and it works for the people who need it most
Minimum unit pricing (MUP) is a simple policy with a clear goal: to reduce alcohol use and the harm it causes. It sets a minimum price for drinks containing alcohol based on the amount of pure ethanol, the component that causes harm. In practice, this mostly affects cheap, high-strength products linked to the greatest health risks. Because most drinks sold in pubs, bars, and restaurants are already priced above this threshold, MUP primarily affects alcohol bought for home consumption | IAS blog, UK
A lost five years? New leadership on the horizon as Ghada Waly departs UNODC
After just over five years at the helm, Ms Ghada Waly officially left as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in November 2025 | IDPC blog, UK
After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers
When Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, there were many concerns about its potential impacts. One of them involved cannabis-impaired driving. Before legalization, police were already catching more drug-impaired drivers each year. So, people naturally worried that more stoned drivers would appear on the road after legalization | Conversation, Canada