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Daily news - 14th January 2025 |
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UK news
Ketamine’s move from club to ‘chill-out’ drug is sign of a troubling culture shift
Experts say mental health treatment is key to tackling rise in UK, rather than simply reclassifying drug as class A | Guardian, UK
Scotcast: UK’s first drug supervision room opens - video
Conversation about Scotland’s biggest news stories, hosted by Martin Geissler. As the UK’s first supervision room for illegal drugs opens in Glasgow, the team asks whether it will do more harm or good | BBC, UK
News story: ACMD appoints 10 leading experts
Ten leading experts have joined the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to strengthen its vital work advising the government on drug harms | ACMD, UK
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs member biographies
Biographies of members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs | ACMD, UK
ACMD members' register of interests
Updated to reflect the appointment of new members | ACMD, UK
Study finds cash rewards help smokers quit
Giving money, vouchers or returning cash deposits to people who smoke has helped them give up the habit, new research has found | BBC, UK
New smartwatch app 'could help smokers quit'
A new smartwatch app which intervenes when typical hand movements of smoking are detected could help people quit, researchers say | BBC, UK
Homelessness charity helps smokers quit
A charity says it has held 250 appointments with people in the homeless or migrant worker communities to help them quit smoking | BBC, UK
Dry January sees low alcohol drinks boom continue
Sales of alcohol-free drinks have soared during the so-called Dry January period, landlords and brewers have said | BBC, UK
Advertising watchdog upholds complaints against rehab referral companies
Complaints against a number of addiction treatment referral companies have been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) | DDN, UK
Fiona Spargo-Mabbs appointed to government drugs advisory body
The DSM Foundation is delighted to announce that drugs education charity founder and director Fiona Spargo-Mabbs OBE has been appointed to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. The ACMD is an advisory non-departmental public body that makes recommendations to the government on the control of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs, including classification and scheduling under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its regulations | DSM Foundation, UK
The Forward Trust National Reunion
Sat, 25 Jan 2025 11:00 - 15:30 GMT. You are invited to The Forward Trust’s National Reunion 2025, this year titled The Magic of Recovery! On Saturday 25th January 2025 at St. John’s Church in Hackney join us from 11am to 3.30pm for the biggest event of The Forward Trust calendar. This year expect to catch up with friends from around The Forward Trust as we come together to watch amazing life performances and hear incredible stories of life-changing experiences in recovery | Forward Trust, UK
Drones flying into jails in England and Wales are national security threat, says prisons watchdog
Chief inspector of prisons issues warning after surge in weapons and drugs flown into high-security facilities | Guardian, UK
Drug driving arrests outstrip drinking offences
A total of 140 people were arrested for drug driving in December, nearly double the number of drink driving arrests during the same period | BBC, UK
International news
Effectiveness of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship bans on smoking prevalence, initiation and cessation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) have the potential to influence smoking behaviour. However, many countries are yet to implement such strategies | BMJ, UK
Ryanair calls for limit of two alcoholic drinks at airports in Europe
Airline asks authorities to impose new curbs as it seeks to recover €15,000 in costs related to diverted flight | Guardian, UK
Is beer better without alcohol? - audio
In the past stout beer has been touted for its supposed health benefits. Is there any truth to those claims - and what happens if you take the alcohol out? CrowdScience listener Aengus pondered these questions down at the pub, after noticing most of his friends were drinking non-alcoholic beers. He wondered how the non-alcoholic stuff is made – what’s taken out and what’s added in – and whether the final product is better for you than the alcoholic version | BBC Sounds, UK
Poland takes over EU presidency with the motto 'Security, Europe!'
This month, Poland has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with the motto 'Security, Europe!', underscoring the pressing challenges facing the continent in this time of conflict. Over the next six months, Poland will steer work across all levels of the Council, aiming to foster cooperation, consensus and solidarity among the EU Member States. This marks Poland’s second presidency since joining the EU in 2004, the first time being in 2011 | EUDA, Portugal
Study examines links between opioid epidemic and rural homelessness
A new study led by a Georgia State University researcher finds that the opioid epidemic and rural homelessness are exacerbating each other with devastating consequences | Medical Xpress, USA
Meth mortality skyrocketed between 1999 and 2021: Study reveals age and gender differences
Methamphetamine deaths in the U.S. rose 61-fold from 1999 to 2021, according to a study, highlighting a growing crisis in addiction and public health | Medical Xpress, USA
Study finds changes in opioid use outcomes after passage of medical marijuana laws
A new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found no changes in opioid outcomes among the general population with the states' passage of medical and recreational marijuana laws. However, the findings also show decreases in opioid outcomes after medical marijuana laws existed among people reporting cannabis use but no changes in opioid outcomes when laws for both medical and recreational use were enacted | Medical Xpress, USA
ADHD and alcohol: Emotional regulation efforts pay off in quality of life points
The emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are highly associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study explored the role of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation and the interaction with adult probable ADHD on alcohol-related quality of life | Journal of Psychiatric Research, UK
Study finds chances of quitting smoking improve with integrated care, including medication and counseling
Smokers undergoing lung cancer screening may have the best chance of quitting if they receive integrated care, which includes medication and comprehensive counseling with tobacco treatment specialists, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | Medical Xpress, USA
Recent Incarceration and HIV Risk Among Women Who Use Heroin
In this cross-sectional study of 195 women who used heroin in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, recent incarceration was common and was associated with sexual concurrency, stimulant use, lifetime nonfatal overdose, and missing HIV care appointments | JAMA Network Open, USA
Accidental drug and alcohol-related deaths rising in Ontario, especially those involving multiple substances
A new report from researchers at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and Public Health Ontario shows the number of accidental drug and alcohol toxicity-related deaths continued to rise dramatically from January 2018 and December 2022 | Medical Xpress, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
Drug consumption facilities: they’ve been around since 1986 and now Scotland has one – but do they work?
It has taken more than ten years of wrangling, but the UK’s first legal drug-consumption facility has finally opened in Glasgow. These facilities offer a safe, clean place for people to use illicit drugs, usually by injection, in the presence of health professionals. It is hoped that the facility in Glasgow, called The Thistle, will reduce drug-related overdoses (Scotland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe) and reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses, such as HIV | Conversation, UK
Millie Mackintosh says motherhood ‘poured fuel on fire’ of alcohol struggles
Reality star said she would start drinking during her children’s bedtime and almost ‘hit’ her husband | Independent, UK
Whatever happened to the J-shaped curve?
At the fag-end of the 19th century, when the temperance movement in the UK was about to reach its zenith, a Dr Joseph Mortimer Granville wrote to The Times declaring that, on the contrary, people weren’t drinking enough. Abstinence and moderation were, in fact, making them ill | Phil Mellows, UK
Zimbabwe Arrested Meth Users Despite Drug Never Being Illegal
A glaring omission in Zimbabwe’s drug control laws has meant that methamphetamine was only just outlawed. In October 2024, the drug was added to the list of controlled substances in the Dangerous Drugs Act for the first time ever, meaning people arrested for its use before this date were being arrested for a substance that was never criminalised | Talking Drugs, UK