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Daily news - 7th February 2025

UK news

Press release: Local public health services given £200 million boost

Local communities to receive funding for family and school nurses, sexual health clinics and other public health services. Funds will drive key health services, from smoking cessation to addiction recovery and children’s health | Department of Health and Social Care, Andrew Gwynne MP and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, UK

Children starting secondary school as vape addicts

Children are starting secondary school already addicted to vaping, a Welsh government minister has said. Health Minister Sarah Murphy said it is "really important" that there is support for children and young people addicted to vaping when the ban on single-use vapes becomes law. Murphy was giving evidence to the Senedd's health committee about the legislation imposing the ban, which comes in on 1 June | BBC, UK

MSPs debate how to improve justice system for people with alcohol problems

Acknowledging the many missed opportunities there are to put in place treatment and support for people with alcohol problems caught up in the justice system, MSPs debated potential solutions outlined by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP). The SHAAP report, entitled Alcohol (In)justice: Position on people with an alcohol use disorder in the justice system, highlights the deep inequalities within Scotland’s criminal justice system by showing that people with an alcohol use disorder are greatly overrepresented in criminal justice settings | SHAAP, UK

So is minimum unit pricing helping? The reality behind Scotland's 15-year-high alcohol death rate

Figures showing that deaths caused by alcohol have reached a 15-year high in Scotland comes as a serious blow, not just for the families who have lost loved ones to the demon drink - but to campaigners working to shift the country’s image as the sick man of Europe | Scotsman, UK

Naloxone

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the capacity of health care services in the England and Wales to provide take home Naloxone kits to people at risk of opioid overdose | They work for you, UK

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the impact assessment for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, published on 5 November 2024, whether the specified cost of retailer staff training (a) is a one-off cost and (b) reflects ongoing costs in relation to planned secondary legislation relating to that Bill | They work for you, UK

Yellow pills alert after overdose risk warning

Police have issued a warning over a batch of harmful illegal yellow pills that could cause overdoses. Cumbria Police said the small, circular pills, believed to be a type of opioid, could have an O, P or D branded on them | BBC, UK

Public urination and drug disposal ban in towns

Riding an e-scooter, public urination and unsafe disposal of needles have been banned in three Staffordshire towns to clamp down on anti-social behaviour | BBC, UK

Four arrested over £80m cocaine discovery

Four men have been arrested in a small Shropshire village over the discovery of £80m of cocaine at a port in Essex | BBC, UK

Illicit vapes and tobacco worth £5k seized in raid

Illegal tobacco and vapes with a street value of about £5,000 have been seized from a business in York | BBC, UK

International news

Two in court over €14m drug seizure in Dublin and Laois

Two men in their 40s have appeared in court after the seizure of almost 200kg of drugs in counties Laois and Dublin | BBC, UK

The world's first anabolic-androgenic steroid testing trial: A two-phase pilot combining chemical analysis, results dissemination and community feedback

[Open access] The clandestine production and distribution of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) poses health risks due to the uncertainty of their contents. This study aimed to test the chemical content of AAS samples and provide aggregate results back to the community, exploring how these results influenced usage decisions and risk management | Addiction, UK

Effective Treatment for Mental and Substance Use Disorders in 21 Countries

[Open access] In this cross-sectional study including 56 927 respondents, the proportion of 12-month person-disorders across 21 countries receiving effective treatment was low. Low perceived need, low treatment contact given perceived need, and low effective treatment given minimally adequate treatment were the major barriers, with substantial variation across disorders | JAMA Psychiatry, USA

Cannabis Use Disorder Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations and 5-Year Mortality

In this cohort study of 11.6 million people studied for a median of 5 years, individuals with incident hospital-based care for a CUD were at a 2.8-fold increased risk of death within 5 years relative to the general population | JAMA Network Open, USA

Dispensary warning signs about cannabis use during pregnancy found ineffective

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 | News Medical, USA

[Open access] Question was whether research had shown the USA could mitigate its opioid use and overdose crises by educating its secondary school pupils. Some positive evidence emerged, but no study directly assessed overdose impacts | Addictive Behaviors, USA

[Open access] Compared typically to usual treatment, programmes integrating various forms of support and treatment for mothers of children up to five years of age often generated improvements in mental health and substance use. However, only those including rewards/sanctions targeting desired (non-)substance use consistently affected these behaviours | Addictive Behaviors, USA

How Fentanyl Producers in Mexico Are Adapting to a Challenging Market

When Mario* heard the news in mid-May 2023, he immediately suspended his operations. After five years of booming fentanyl trafficking in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, “the bosses,” as he called the Sinaloa Cartel faction of the Chapitos, issued a blunt directive: stop all production in the state | Insight Crime, USA

Trudeau Promises Canada “Fentanyl Czar” to Avoid Trump Tariffs

In a successful bid to stave off impending tariffs from President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resurfaced a December 2024 plan from Public Safety Canada to spend $1.3 billion increasing border security, this time with a few new additions | Filter Magazine, USA

Blogs, comment and opinion

Alcohol calorie labelling might help change drinking habits

You may have noticed calorie labels appearing next to food options on many menus or have heard about them in the news. However, have you noticed that alcohol drinks are missing these labels? | IAS blog, UK

Alcohol and the future of the NHS: part of the problem and part of the solution – Alastair MacGilchrist

In this blog I will focus on alcohol, for 3 reasons: (1) Scotland has a particularly unhealthy relationship with alcohol; (2) the steps which can be taken to improve the situation are well-known and compelling; and last but not least, that being the case, (3) why have we not already taken these steps? | Reform Scotland blog, UK

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