Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports

Daily news - 20th February 2025

UK news

10-year study to shed light on youth vaping

Landmark study to investigate long-term health effects of vaping on young people's health and wellbeing, alongside wider influences on adolescent health | Department of Health and Social Care, Ashley Dalton MP and The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, UK

Need to tackle common misperceptions that vaping is as bad, or worse, than smoking, study finds

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. However, many inaccurately believe that vaping is as bad for you or worse than smoking | BSMS, UK

New report calls for people to get talking about health issues

‘What are you talking about?’ argues that everyday conversations have the potential to influence healthy behaviours like exercise, drinking less, and quitting smoking, as well as signposting to further support on issues like mental health and the menopause | RSPH, UK

Environment more crucial than genes in risk of early death, study suggests

Analysis of UK BioBank data shows importance of factors including living conditions and smoking, say experts | Guardian, UK

Glasgow leads alcohol death chart in Scotland as cases hit record high

It is the fourth consecutive year that a new record number of alcohol-specific deaths was reported and highest stats are clustered around Inverclyde, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire | Glasgow Times, UK

New graves mark a lost generation in tourist town ravaged by drugs

James McMillan grew up next door to Lisa McCuish in a neat cul-de-sac on a hillside above Oban Bay. Now they lie side by side in Pennyfuir Cemetery. The newest headstones on the freshly-dug fringes of the graveyard tell an alarming story of a lost generation in this pretty tourist town on Scotland's west coast | BBC, UK

Views sought on more tobacco and nicotine controls [Isle of Man]

People have been asked for their views on plans to tighten restrictions on tobacco and nicotine products, including the introduction of a generational ban | BBC, UK

Street Drugs Discussions: Deep dive into Nitazenes

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00 - 14:00 GMT. Online. Curious about Nitazenes? Join us in this webinar for a discussion where we'll explore: What are Nitazenes? / Death from Nitazenes: are we underestimating the problem? / Why are they in street drugs? / How widespread are they? / What can be done: Policy responses | Drug Science, UK

Join us as we celebrate 20 years of SHARP this February

Wednesday 26th February 2025. 11:00am – 3:00pm. The Brink – 15-21 Parr Street, Liverpool, L1 4J. This is a landmark year for our Self Help Addiction Referral Programme (SHARP) in Liverpool, as it celebrates its 20th year of operation. Since opening our doors in January 2005, our abstinence-based recovery support for individuals and families affected by drug and/or alcohol addiction has made us a trusted beacon of hope across Merseyside | Forward Trust, UK

Advances in Opioid Substitution Treatment

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:30 - 14:30 BST. Delta Hotels Manchester Airport. Learn about Via’s history of using long-acting buprenorphine and its impact on the outcomes and experiences of the people that we support | Via, UK

The cannabis farm scandal: how a rogue lettings agency destroyed countless homes

Imperial Property Group said it rented homes to NHS staff. In fact, they were torn apart to create drug factories, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage. Why has the culprit not been brought to justice? | Guardian, UK

Cocaine raid brothers ordered to pay back profits

Two drug-dealing brothers who stole cocaine worth £1.3m from a notorious Merseyside gang have been ordered to hand over £80,000 or face further jail time | BBC, UK

Small Charity Week 2025: New match funding campaign to boost small charities

To mark Small Charity Week 2025, NCVO is partnering with Big Give and Global’s Make Some Noise to launch a match funding campaign that will provide crucial financial support to small charities | NCVO, UK

International news

‘Gaba is the off switch of the brain’: Is it also the answer to better sleep, sobriety and less anxiety?

‘Gaba is the off switch of the brain’: Is it also the answer to better sleep, sobriety and less anxiety? Products that enhance the uptake of this neurotransmitter are burgeoning - including drinks that mimic the effects of alcohol, without the hangover. Here’s what happened when I tried them | Guardian, UK

Why are Singapore’s drug laws so strict?

Singapore’s government urged to call off execution of Malaysian man caught smuggling 51g of heroin | Independent, UK

US adds Mexican cartels to list of foreign terrorist organisations

Six cartels added to list as part of Trump’s plan to ‘wage war’ on drug trafficking groups to address fentanyl crisis in US | Guardian, UK

Implementing wastewater studies in Latin America and the Caribbean

Implementing wastewater studies in Latin America and the Caribbean is the focus of an EUDA technical meeting kicking off today in Buenos Aires. The two-day meeting is organised in collaboration with the Secretaría de Políticas Integrales sobre Drogas de la Nación Argentina (SEDRONAR), under the COPOLAD III project | EUDA, Portugal

Lithuania is a unique case in cutting alcohol consumption – experts

Lithuania has managed to cut alcohol consumption significantly in record time after implementing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations, foreign and local experts have said | LRT, Lithuania

Expulsion, Incarceration, Incapacitation. Policing Drinking Women in Poland and Britain in the Second Half of the 19th Century

[Open access] In Victorian Britain and post-partition Poland, despite cultural, political and economic differences, there was a shared belief that women’s drinking was more harmful than men’s which prompted formal and informal methods of policing. In this article we show how control mechanisms emerged in different environments, what their motivations and effects were, and by which actors they were deployed | Cultural and Social History, USA

How Common Is Illegal Drug Use Among People Who Are Homeless?

UCSF researchers found surprising answers regarding drug use in the largest study among people experiencing homelessness since the ’90s | UCSF, USA

A randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the NET Device™ for reducing withdrawal symptom severity during opioid discontinuation

Neuromodulation is a promising approach for opioid discontinuation, as not all patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) seek pharmacotherapy. The NET Device is a non-invasive, battery-powered, portable, device that provides bilateral, transcranial, transcutaneous, alternating current stimulation (tACS) for patients experiencing opioid withdrawal. This clinical trial prospectively evaluated whether NET Device utilization is effective for persons with OUD undergoing opioid discontinuation without medications for OUD (MOUD) | Frontiers in Psychiatry, USA

Tobacco and E-Product Use by US Adults With Disabilities

In this survey study of 32 314 participants at wave 1, cumulative disabilities were positively associated with tobacco use; prevalence was consistently highest for those with 3 or more disabilities, regardless of tobacco product type. Differences were stable over time or increased, despite overall declines in tobacco use prevalence | JAMA Network Open, USA

Study looks at effects of menthol cigarette ban on smoking habits

New research published in Health Economics indicates that a national prohibition of menthol cigarettes in the United States could increase the number of people who attempt to quit smoking but also support an illegal menthol cigarette market | News Medical, USA

[Open access] Analysing opioid (medical and illegal) death rates in US states with a long record of having legalised cannabis for recreational use suggests legalisation “could reduce opioid overdose deaths but the effect may not be consistent” | Public Health, USA

California clinicians boost buprenorphine prescriptions, aiding recovery efforts

In the face of the alarming number of opioid-related deaths in the U.S., there have been national efforts to increase emergency clinician prescribing of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. In a study published in JAMA, UCLA Health researchers report on the extent and success rate of such efforts in California | Medical Xpress, USA

Government provides update on pharmacy investigations, prescribed alternatives

The Province is taking action to prevent the diversion of prescribed opioids and holdbad actors accountable for putting people and communities at risk. The Prescribed Alternatives Program helps save lives by separating people at the highest risk of overdose from toxic street drugs and predatory drug dealers. It is one part of the Province’s work to address the toxic drug crisis, in addition to the expansion of treatment and recovery services, early intervention and prevention, supportive housing and more | Government of British Colombia, Canada

Cannabis poisonings in Australia following the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, 2014–24: analysis of NSW Poisons Information Centre data

[Open access] Australia legalised medical use of cannabis and its main psychoactive ingredient in 2016, but there was no evidence of a resultant uptick in calls about poisonings by the drug. Legalisation may, however, have contributed to the greater role of cannabis eaten in foods, “particularly high risk products because of their palatability and the possibility of large ingestions” | MJA, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

Relapse and burnout among recovering addiction professionals

This paper explores the issue of relapse among recovering counselors in addiction treatment programs. He interviewed 20 people who relapsed while working in the field, identifying organizational factors that may have contributed to their relapse. The paper includes 3 case studies to help illustrate the organizational factors and role stressors | Recovery Review blog, USA

Extend Studio