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Daily news - 6th February 2025 |
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UK news
Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2023
In 2023, 10,473 deaths from alcohol-specific causes were registered in the UK, the highest number on record, but the rate of alcohol-specific deaths (15.9 per 100,000 people) decreased slightly compared with 2022, (16.6 deaths per 100,000 people). The rate of alcohol-specific deaths for males remained around double the rate for females (21.9 and 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively); this is consistent with previous years. England and Wales had an increase in the rate of alcohol-specific deaths compared with 2022. Scotland and Northern Ireland continued to have the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths | ONS, UK
Alcohol-related deaths in UK hit record high of 10,473, ONS data shows
Health experts urge ministers to do more to tackle drinking-related harm by bringing in minimum unit pricing | Guardian, UK
Guidance: Housing support grant-funded services: privacy notice
Information for people in grant-funded housing support services and drug and alcohol treatment about sharing their data to help improve the support available | OHID, UK
'Alarming' rise in strong illicit nicotine pouches
High strength nicotine pouches that are being sold illegally in the UK could cause inadvertent overdosing and harm to teenagers and young adults, experts have warned | BBC, UK
New research seeks to find new ways to target opioid addiction
Supported by a £5m award from the Wellcome Trust, the ground-breaking new project will use genetic and drug-discovery techniques to try to answer the longstanding question: can we have the pain-relief of opioids without the addiction risk? | University of Glasgow, UK
New substance misuse help centre to be built
Planning permission has been granted for a new £3.6m substance misuse centre. Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Development Corporation last year to demolish the existing treatment centre in the town's Whitby Street, deemed not fit for purpose, and replace it with a single-storey hub on the same site | BBC, UK
Recovering alcoholics tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in Liverpool
Recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are helping to combat a rise in anti-social behaviour and violence in an area of Liverpool. The residents of Damien John Kelly House (DJK House), an abstinence-based recovery centre based in Wavertree High Street are taking part in a new initiative aimed at reducing crime and violence in the local area | Liverpool Echo, UK
Cocaine: Young People
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people aged under 25 were charged with possession of cocaine in the last 12 months | They work for you, UK
Innovation Fund to Reduce Demand for Illicit Substances (RDIS) Phase 3
Closing date: 23 April 2025 at 1:00 pm. NIHR is launching Phase 3 of the Innovation Fund to Reduce the Demand for Illicit Substances, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in partnership with the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU). The funding opportunity aims to fund projects that address demand for recreational drugs and are thereby likely to lead to reduced drug use and dependency | NIHR, UK
Drug dealer ordered to repay his £679k profit
A drug dealer who made £679,000 by selling cocaine and cannabis has been ordered to repay his profits | BBC, UK
International news
A randomised controlled implementation trial of the feasibility and effectiveness of school staff delivery of a selective substance use and mental health program during the COVID-19 pandemic
A promising substance use and mental health programme based on targeting school pupils with higher-risk personality profiles has usually been trialled when delivered by psychologists rather than usual school staff. Using trained teachers instead, this Australian trial found no evidence of improved substance use and mental health outcomes | BMC Public Health, UK
€14 million drug seizure ‘significant blow’ to criminal network
Drugs said to be worth more than €14 million have been seized and three men were arrested following a major garda operation | Breaking News, Ireland
Warning signs may not be enough to deter cannabis use in pregnancy, study reveals
Warning signs at dispensaries about the potential health effects of cannabis use in pregnancy may not be effective, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, based at Rutgers University. In fact, those who are pregnant and using cannabis may actually distrust the content of warning signs altogether | Medical Xpress, USA
Only 7 out of 100 people receive effective treatment for mental health or substance-use disorders, large study finds
New research published in JAMA Psychiatry estimates that globally, only 6.9% of people with mental health or substance-use disorders receive effective treatment for their disorders | Medical Xpress, USA
U.S. cannabis shoppers face a market flush with illegal weed
On a crisp winter morning last month, Sgt. Erin McAtee watched as members of his team with the California Department of Cannabis Control executed a search warrant at a home in Fairfield, halfway between Sacramento and San Francisco | npr, USA
Pregnancy warning labels missing on alcohol - audio
New research published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health has revealed that only 65 per cent of alcohol products sold in Australia display the mandatory warning about the risks of drinking while pregnant | abc.net.au, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Collective Voice calls on Government to prioritise reducing harm from alcohol
Executive Director of Collective Voice, Dr Will Haydock, released the following statement: "Treatment works to reduce harm from alcohol. Every one of these deaths is a tragedy – and we should be doing more as a society to prevent them. We know that effective, evidence-based support can help people make changes and turn their lives around, benefitting not just themselves but their friends, family and the wider community..." | Collective Voice, UK
Time for prevention is now: action needed to stop trend of increasing alcohol-specific deaths
Figures published on 5th February 2025 by the Office for National Statistics represent another all-time-high for alcohol-specific deaths in the UK, following half a decade of year-on-year rises | Alcohol Change UK, UK
First new non-opioid painkiller approved in the US for decades – here’s how it works
A new non-opioid painkiller, suzetrigine, has just been approved by the US drug regulator, the FDA. It is the first non-opioid painkiller the agency has approved in over two decades | Conversation, UK