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Daily news - 17th February 2025 |
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UK news
Young adults more likely to switch from smoking to vaping when aware of reduced harm, but misinformation deters change
Young adults are more likely to give up smoking and switch to vaping if they understand the reduced harm of vaping, according to a new study involving University of Bristol researchers. However, many inaccurately believe that vaping is as bad for you or worse than smoking | University of Bristol, UK
High BMI is a specific risk factor for drug-related mortality in patients receiving methadone: A case control study
[Open access] Long-term treatment of opioid dependence with the opioid agonist therapy (OAT) methadone can lead to significant weight gain. This study investigated whether OAT patients with a body mass index (BMI) deemed overweight (≥25) are at increased risk of mortality | Addiction, UK
Pregnancy: Smoking
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to fund a financial incentives scheme to help pregnant women to stop smoking during this Parliament | They work for you, UK
Drinks: Prices
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make a comparative assessment of the price of (a) non-alcoholic drinks and (b) alcoholic ones | They work for you, UK
Our call for sustainable funding for community drug and alcohol treatment
Every pound invested in drug and alcohol treatment services delivers extraordinary returns: saving lives, reducing crime, easing NHS pressures, and breaking cycles of disadvantage. At Change Grow Live, we have rebuilt our workforce, expanded access to care, and helped hundreds of thousands of people to achieve the stability they deserve. Without sustained, ringfenced funding, these hard-won gains are perilously close to being undone | Change Grow Live, UK
'Steroids gave me heart failure at 30 and I could die early'
He had heart failure at 30 and believes taking steroids will reduce his life by 20 years - but Joey Farrell continues using muscle-building drugs for "the sake of his career" | BBC, UK
Colchester's Open Road initiative targeting alcohol stigma
Special beer mats have been handed out to pubs across Colchester to help save the lives of people battling drink and drug addiction | Essex County Standard, UK
The footballer who kicked addiction and found the form of his life
Shaun Whalley spent years battling alcohol and gambling addictions. Now he's teetotal and firing on all cylinders at the age of 37 | i news, UK
Upcoming Webinar - Developing Inclusion
Thursday 20th March, 12.30 – 2pm. Substance Use Related Stigma Across General Practice - what positive steps can we make to ensure that stigmatisation within a GP setting is reduced for people who use drugs and alcohol? A person-centred approach, appropriate language and addressing implicit bias could be key. Hear from three healthcare providers across the UK and Ireland who share their experiences and tips for best practice | AntiStigma Network, UK
'Trusted' market town cocaine courier jailed
Tony Joyce-Scott, 25, delivered high purity cocaine and cannabis to undercover police agents at least 14 times in Alnwick in Northumberland, Newcastle Crown Court heard | BBC, UK
Drone seized after suspected prison drugs drop-off
The device was recovered from a car together with a pair of black tights that were "packed full" of Class A drugs, mobile phones, chargers and SIM cards, police said | BBC, UK
Boy, 16, guilty of murder at drugs house
David Hunt, 45, was stabbed nine times by the boy, who cannot be named due to his age, on the upstairs landing of the house in Arundel Close, Hull, on 19 June last year | BBC, UK
International news
Cultivating ecosystems of change for lasting impact: The Support. Don’t Punish 2024 Global Day of Action – Summary report
The Support. Don't Punish Global Day of Action reflects the growing movement against the 'war on drugs', uniting communities under a shared banner to demand rights-affirming drug policies, harm reduction, and collective action for a fairer future | IDPC, UK
Efficacy of cannabidiol alone or in combination with Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol for the management of substance use disorders: An umbrella review of the evidence
[Open access] Does the evidence show that medications derived from cannabis effectively treat substance use problems? Only in respect of withdrawal from cannabis itself | Addiction, UK
WHO calls for cigarette-style cancer warnings on alcohol packaging
Cancer charities back call for prominent warning labels while industry body says move ‘not proportionate’ | Guardian, UK
Alcohol health warning labels: a public health perspective for Europe (PDF)
WHO endorses alcohol labelling as a policy option to reduce alcohol-related harm. This can involve providing information on packaging about alcohol content, ingredients, nutritional information and health warnings. This report situates health warning labels within the broader context of alcohol policy, highlighting their roles in raising risk awareness, increasing support for other alcohol policies, and decreasing product appeal | WHO, Denmark
Peruvian policeman in capybara costume makes Valentine's drug bust
Police bodycam footage shows the moment officers used a capybara costume to carry out a drug raid in Peru's capital Lima | BBC, UK
French parliament votes to ban disposable e-cigarettes
The French parliament on Thursday voted to ban single-use electronic cigarettes, considered to be gateways to tobacco addiction for teenagers and harmful to the environment | France 24, France
Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs (2024)
Embeds in national US clinical guidelines the flexibilities prompted by the Covid pandemic and regulations revised in 2024 to promote greater individualisation and whole-person care | SAMHSA, USA
Recreational Marijuana Laws and suicide deaths in the US
[Open access] Overall, US states which legalised cannabis for non-medical use experienced a slight increase in suicide deaths, but this was not inevitable; states legalising in 2015 rather than 2018 actually saw a fall in deaths after legalisation | Psychiatry Research, USA
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Later E-Cigarette and Tobacco Use in US Youths
In this cohort study of 13 572 US youths, odds of e-cigarette use, cigarette smoking, other tobacco use, and dual use did not significantly differ between those with asymptomatic ADHD (with or without pharmacotherapy) and population controls. In contrast, all youths who had 3 or more ADHD symptoms (with or without pharmacotherapy) had significantly higher adjusted odds of using nicotine and tobacco products | JAMA Network Open, USA
New research continues to link marijuana with schizophrenia. Experts say it's not so simple
These types of studies aren't intended to imply causation, yet they are often interpreted as such | Salon, USA
Safe Consumption Sites and Crime: A Staggered Synthetic Control Evaluation of Toronto’s Expanding Safe Consumption Site Network
This study analyzes the potential criminogenic effect of safe consumption sites (SCSs) in one of the most longstanding and expansive operational networks across Toronto, Canada. The analyses are positioned to test for changes in crime levels and both immediate and spatial effects for total, property, and violent crime events resulting from SCS implementation | CRIMRXIV, USA
UVA receives $9.3 million NIH grant for ketamine seizure treatment trial
University of Virginia Brain Institute and School of Medicine researchers have received an initial $9.3 million award from the National Institutes of Health for a $30 million clinical trial to determine if the powerful anesthetic ketamine can save patients from prolonged, life-threatening grand mal seizures that won't respond to other treatments | News Medical, USA
Drug Warning - Protonitazene (PDF)
A white tablet containing a nitazene (protonitazene) has caused severe opioid overdose in Sydney | NSW Gaovernment, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Ketamine is young people's drug of choice - why is it so poorly understood?
Calls to make ketamine a class A drug fundamentally misunderstand the drug landscape in the UK | i news opinion, USA
Labels warning about alcohol-attributable cancer risks should be mandated urgently
In January, 2025, the US Surgeon General released an Advisory on alcohol consumption and cancer risk. He briefly summarised the evidence on alcohol and cancer, including underlying biological mechanisms, and concluded that alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of cancer in the USA and globally, causing around 100 000 and 750 000 cancer cases annually, respectively | Lancet opinion, UK
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says antidepressants are harder to quit than heroin – is he right?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the US health and human services secretary, despite saying a few things that raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing. One of those things was the claim that some people have a harder time coming off antidepressants than they do coming off heroin. He was referring specifically to the current generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs | Conversation, UK
We asked young people if they wanted tighter vaping regulation to phase out nicotine – here’s what they said
New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms. The smokefree generation would have ended sales of tobacco products to anyone born on or after a specific date, thus gradually phasing out smoking. This new approach goes beyond age restriction policies (such as R18 or R21), which may imply smoking is “safe” once people reach the designated age | Conversation, New Zealand