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Daily news - 31st January 2025 |
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UK news
Official Statistics: Substance misuse treatment in secure settings: 2023 to 2024
Statistics for alcohol and drug misuse treatment in prisons and other secure settings from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS). There were 49,881 adults aged 18 and over in alcohol and drug treatment in prisons and secure settings between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. This is a 7% rise compared to the previous year (46,551). The number of adults in treatment has increased year on year for the last 3 years, and the number in treatment this year is 14% higher than in 2020 to 2021, the lowest number of adults in treatment in the last 5 years | OHID, UK
Recovery support services as part of the continuum of care for alcohol or drug use disorders
[Open access] Identifies and reviews the evidence for six modalities researched as ways to support people recovering from addiction to rebuild their lives: peer support; facilitating employment; recovery-friendly housing; continuing care/check-ups; recovery-focused community centres; and support in educational settings | Addiction, UK
Modeling the Potential Health, Health Economic, and Health Inequality Impact of a Large-Scale Rollout of the Drink Less App in England
[Open access] Estimates impacts of attempts to increase take-up of the Drink Less app among risky drinkers either via a mass media campaign or by embedding advice to use the app in GP consultations. On the basis that the app curbs drinking by two units a week, particularly the GP route would generate“substantial reductions in alcohol-related harm” | Value in Health, UK
Understanding barriers to the use of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks to reduce alcohol consumption among individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
This project aims to shed light on why no/no drinks may not be as accessible or appealing to those from disadvantaged communities | SARG, UK
Campaign to save Bristol drug and alcohol detox unit - video
The Acer Unit, described as a 'lifeline' by some of its ex-patients, is under threat of closure | ITV, UK
Anti Stigma Network - Cultural Experiences of Stigma Webinar - video
Host Navi Dhesi, founder of No More Pretending is joined by guest speakers Ann Marie Sweeney, Aunee Bhogaita, Heewr Bag and Stella Kityo as they discuss how the stigma of drug and alcohol use within some minoritised communities can create barriers to treatment, leading to poorer health outcomes and inequality of access to support needed | Anti Stigma Network, UK
New website launched in Leeds for people in recovery
RecoveryinLeeds is a new “one-stop site” for people who have faced issues with alcohol and drugs across Leeds”. The website offers comprehensive information on activities, venues, community support, and stories to help people maintain abstinence and thrive in their recovery | Forward Leeds, UK
'Michael Jackson started my path away from alcohol'
A wellness and sobriety coach said a panic attack in a supermarket and a Michael Jackson song made him look at his own problems with alcohol | BBC, UK
Alcoholic Drinks: Airports
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the benefits of limiting the amount of alcohol sold to customers in bars and restaurants at airports; and what consideration they have given to imposing such restrictions | They work for you, UK
Rise in under-25s drink and drug driving arrests
More young people are being arrested for drink and drug driving offences, according to figures from a police force's campaign to tackle the issue | BBC, UK
International news
New non-opioid painkiller approved by US health agency
Its manufacturer Vertex Pharmaceuticals said this enables it to provide effective relief for moderate to severe pain without "the addictive potential of opioids" | BBC, UK
Electronic cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking in young people: A systematic review
[Open access] At an individual level, people who vape appear to be more likely to go on to smoke than people who do not vape; however, it is unclear if these behaviours are causally linked. Very low certainty evidence suggests that youth vaping and smoking could be inversely related | Addiction, UK
Nationwide trends in diagnosed sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic use disorders in adolescents and young adults enrolled in Medicaid: 2001–2019
[Open access] Sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic use disorders (SHA-UD) are defined by significant impairment or distress caused by recurrent sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic use. This study aimed to measure trends in the prevalence of SHA-UD diagnoses in adolescent and young adult US Medicaid enrollees from 2001 to 2019 | Addiction, UK
HSE notifies public to stop using four types of vape as EU-wide safety warning issued
Excessive nicotine concentrations were found in the products | Journal, Ireland
Different Types of Alcohol Tax and Minimum Pricing Policies: An Evidence and Policy Review
Review concludes that taxes on alcohol “benefit population health as well as government revenue,” while setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol “can complement taxes by setting limitations to commercial practices which undermine health goals”. | ADDICTA: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, Turkey
A path for safer opioid prescribing
An approach to prescribing opioids that pairs clinician education with patient-centered monitoring and feedback could help primary care doctors minimize prescribing opioid medications to manage patients’ chronic pain, according to a University of Wisconsin–Madison research team | University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
Access to opioid use disorder treatment in US jails: Prevalence and related factors
The provision of opioid use disorder medications in criminal justice settings is an opportunity to reduce post-incarceration overdose and to lower treatment barriers for inmates. To better understand the availability of jail-based medication treatment in the US, this national study examined the prevalence of jails that provide opioid use disorder treatment, including FDA-approved medications, during incarceration, as well as the county-level factors associated with delivering these treatments | Recovery Research Institute, USA
Provider knowledge about supervised consumption sites is associated with more positive attitudes
Healthcare providers’ knowledge about supervised consumption sites can influence their attitudes, which subsequently can influence their harm reduction practices. This study examined the association between supervised consumption site knowledge and attitudes, and which profession had the most knowledge and most positive attitudes | Recovery Research Institute, USA
What’s in the Drug “Strips” Common in Prisons and Jails?
Over the past year, prisons in several states have banned physical mail for incarcerated people, replacing cherished handwritten communications with electronic copies. Corrections departments have often ascribed these policy changes to drug-soaked paper strips arriving in the mail—despite large-scale smuggling of drugs into prisons and jails by staff | Filter Magazine, USA
The Systemic Transphobia of the Drug Treatment and Recovery Industry
Ihave been seeking recovery from alcohol, heroin and pharmaceutical opioid use disorders since late 2013. The treatment system is fraught with barriers, especially so if you’re transgender. It could leave you in worse shape than you were in to begin with, especially if you aren’t prepared. I’m hoping that my experiences can be of use to people entering that world—trans and cisgender alike—and to anyone working to reshape the recovery industry into something more equitable | Filter Magazine, USA
Exploring experiences of talk therapies among gay and bisexual men seeking to reduce or abstain from using crystal methamphetamine in the context of chemsex
[open access] Interviews in Australia with men who have sex with men and used methamphetamine to enhance this sex revealed that they wanted treatment to help them reduce use. One major barrier was that during counselling and therapy the key sexual dimension failed to be addressed | DAR, USA
Younger Australians at risk of using nicotine pouches
A new survey led by the University of Melbourne has found that 70 per cent of Australians aged between 16-39 may be at risk of using nicotine pouches | University of Melbourne, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Eliminating Inequities for Black Mothers With Substance Use Disorder
Between 2010 and 2017, the U.S. saw a 131% increase in maternal opioid use disorder at delivery. There also was an 83% rise in cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome due to prenatal opioid exposure. Additionally, between 2016 and 2020, there was a 3.6% increase in prenatal substance exposure, including alcohol, with significant variation across states | Recovery Review blog, USA