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Daily news - 3rd January 2025 |
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UK news
Guidance: Recovery support services and lived experience initiatives
Updated alcohol and drug treatment data for 2023 to 2024 in 2 places: ‘Part 1: introducing recovery, peer support and lived experience initiatives’; and ‘Part 2: recovery support services - evidence and current provision’ | OHID, UK
Figures reveal 1,500 drug-addicted babies born in Scotland since 2017
Lib Dems warn first minister that party could withdraw support if government does not boost funding for issue | Guardian, UK
Changing public perceptions of alcohol, alcohol harms and alcohol policies: A multi-methods study to develop novel framing approaches
Commissioned by Alcohol Change UK, researchers identified the “stark gap between public and expert views of alcohol and alcohol-related harms”, with the UK public focusing on the positives of drinking and individual weakness as a cause of harm, while experts saw alcohol as inherently risky | Addiction, UK
Love your liver! 19 simple ways to look after this incredible organ, chosen by doctors
Should you do Dry January? Is any amount of alcohol good for you? And do detoxes work? Experts reveal the tips they live by | Guardian, UK
'Ketamine addiction left me crying in pain'
A man who admits being addicted to the so-called party drug Ketamine says it has had a devastating impact on his life, leaving him needing bladder surgery | BBC, UK
Cash seized from drug dealers handed to youth club
The Hive, based in Birkenhead, has received £6,000 from Merseyside Police as part of an initiative called Operation Payback | BBC, UK
'I couldn't stop shoplifting and taking drugs'
"I'd walk past restaurants and stuff like that and look through the windows and I used to think to myself, why can't I just be like them people, like why can't I just be normal?" | BBC, UK
Illegal immigrants jailed for £240k cannabis farm
Two illegal immigrants found manning a cannabis farm worth up to £240,000 in a former restaurant have been jailed | BBC, UK
International news
Whisper it - alcohol-free wine has arrived in France
In the vineyards of Bordeaux, the unspeakable has become the drinkable. Wine without alcohol has arrived | BBC, UK
Xavier Mulenga on how to know when to quit alcohol – Full Story podcast
Addiction specialist and psychiatrist Xavier Mulenga tells Bridie Jabour the common reasons people think they can’t quit and the steps you can take to reduce your alcohol intake | Guardian, UK
Colorado city leaders and veterans clash over psychedelic therapy access
Conservative council members in Colorado Springs are debating broader psilocybin access, while veterans implore them for treatment | Guardian, UK
‘This is medicine’: inside the psilocybin retreat for US first responders
Amid a US mental health crisis, police officers, firefighters and paramedics are flying to Mexico for treatments they say are transformative | Guardian, UK
Psychedelic drug therapy may address mental health concerns in people with cancer and addiction
One or two doses of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, may improve the mental health of cancer patients when accompanied by psychotherapy, a new report suggests. A second new study found that treatment with psilocybin resulted in lasting, positive personality changes in patients with alcohol use disorder | Medical Xpress, USA
Utah Sues Pharmacy Benefit Managers for “Central Role” in Opioid OD Crisis
Utah is suing two of the nation’s top pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), the companies that shape prescription drug pricing, alleging that both “fueled the fire” by profiteering off the opioid-involved overdose crisis | Filter Magazine, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
The role of councils in promoting self-care
Health messages come at us thick and fast. Whether it’s eating more fruit and veg or eating less sugar, exercising more or drinking less alcohol. Empowering people with the confidence and information to look after themselves when they can, and visit the GP when they need to, gives people greater control of their own health and encourages healthy behaviours that help prevent ill health in the long-term | LGA blog, UK
Want to live longer and save money? Online app can help calculate your benefits from cutting back on alcohol
Dry January is a time when many people think about taking a break from alcohol and giving their liver a rest. But what does that look like in terms of individual benefits? What if you knew how many minutes of life you could potentially regain by skipping that last drink, or how your weekly alcohol intake measures up compared to smoking cigarettes? | Conversation, Canada