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Daily news - 23rd July 2025 |
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UK news
43% of drug-caused deaths by health care workers used hospital-only drugs
The study, published today in Addiction by academics from King's College London, found that doctors, nurses and other health care professionals are dying from overdoses of drugs they may have stolen from the workplace, or obtained legally but used in risky ways with fatal consequences | Medical Xpress, UK
Alcohol safety lessons after holiday poisoning
The family of a woman who died from suspected methanol poisoning while travelling in south-east Asia have succeeded in their campaign for compulsory education about the issue in schools | BBC, UK
Bottling it: Have we missed an opportunity to address alcohol harm?
Recently, the Government published its 10 Year Health Plan. It’s smart, considered, and in many ways, sensible, says Change Grow Live chief executive Mark Moody | DDN, UK
Why Language Matters - A terminology guide when discussing substance use
When it comes to substance use, language can either reinforce stigma or foster understanding. Too often, people who use substances are spoken about in ways that reduce them to their substance use. Dehumanising and derogatory words like “addict”, “clean”, or “drug abuser” can carry judgment, shame, and blame — and can stop people from seeking the support they need. But when we choose our words with care, we help create a culture of dignity, inclusion, and hope | Barod, UK
Alcohol, the brain and associated behaviours by Dr David McCartney - video
Learn how alcohol affects the brain, alters dopamine reward pathways, and drives dependence, withdrawal, and relapse. Discover the impact of trauma, genetics, and stress on compulsive drinking, and why treatment, mutual aid (including AA), and psychosocial support offer hope for recovery | SHAAP, UK
Greater Manchester Police: Naloxone
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will have discussions with Greater Manchester Police on the potential impact of not supplying naloxone to frontline officers on levels of drug-related deaths | They work for you, UK
Smoking: Health Services
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to implement automatic enrolment into stop smoking support at (a) A&E departments, (b) cancer screening appointments, (c) mental health services and (d) other NHS touchpoints (i) across Yorkshire and (ii) nationally | They work for you, UK
Last orders: a pub crawl across the UK’s dying booze industry – video
The British pub, long a staple of community life, has been in a state of decline for years – and it’s getting worse. Last year 400 pubs closed their doors. A record low number remain and with the average price of a pint now more than £5, the battle to survive is getting harder. Pubs are more than just places to get drunk – they occupy a unique space in the UK’s cultural landscape and provide a social hub for people across the class and wealth spectrum. With alcohol consumption also in decline, and successive governments never keen to offer pubs a helping hand, can this great British institution survive? | Guardian, UK
County lines arrests and seizures in rail operation
British Transport Police (BTP) and West Midlands Police swooped on stations in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Birmingham over two days | BBC, UK
Cannabis farm worth £1m found in former shop unit
A cannabis factory worth an estimated £1m has been discovered inside a former Poundland and Woolworths | BBC, UK
International news
Health experts warn Trump cuts to the CDC could hurt overdose prevention: ‘A step backwards’
The Trump administration has reportedly withheld $140m from a CDC effort geared at preventing overdose deaths | Guardian, UK
Smoking avatars and online games: how big tobacco targets young people in the metaverse
Cigarettes and vapes are being smuggled into virtual spaces beyond the reach of regulation, creating a new battleground for health campaigners | Guardian, UK
Alcoholics Anonymous at 90: Still a powerful force in alcohol recovery?
Dr James Morris explores the role of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in modern-day society, including AA’s influence over the collective understanding of drinking problems, and the effectiveness of its ‘12 steps to recovery’ for people who identify as ‘alcoholics’. | SSA, UK
US adolescents with cannabis use disorder failing to complete rehabilitation
Cannabis use disorder in adolescents in the United States remains a growing threat despite declines in cannabis use. Many adolescents begin using cannabis before high school, during crucial stages of brain development, which may pose short- and long-term risks for cognitive, academic and social challenges | Medical Xpress, USA
Study highlights potentially dangerous e-cigarette modifications by youth, adults
A new study led by Georgia State University researchers has found that more than 84% of youth and young adults who use e-cigarettes have modified their device, often in potentially dangerous ways | Medical Xpress, USA
Japanese drinkers' response to alcohol can be divided into three distinct clusters
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan and collaborators have used genetic analysis and experiments to discover that the subjective responses of Japanese people to alcohol can be divided into three clear clusters. This research, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, could help identify people at risk for alcohol-related disorders | Medical Xpress, USA
Mobile Outreach Restrictions Take Effect in Kensington, Philadelphia
On July 20, the City of Philadelphia implemented a highly restrictive law targeting mobile outreach services for people who use drugs in Kensington. The neighborhood contains about one-third of the city’s unhoused population | Filter Magazine, USA
People Seeking Methadone or Bupe Face “More Stress Than You Know”
Methadone and buprenorphine are widely prescribed and considered gold-standard medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Yet despite their proven benefits, plus growing political support that has expanded access, many people in need struggle to enroll and stay in treatment | Filter Magazine, USA
Lead Astray? The Hidden Contaminants in Australian Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Market and Their Potential Health Impact
Unregulated anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) markets are a global phenomenon with significant variability in product composition and purity. This study aimed to determine the chemical composition of AAS sold in Australia | DAR, USA [See also Conversation link in Blogs section below]
Cannabis and psychedelics rated most effective for symptom relief by eating disorder patients
A pioneering international survey of people living with eating disorders has found that cannabis and psychedelics, such as 'magic mushrooms' or LSD, were best rated as alleviating symptoms by respondents who self-medicated with the non-prescribed drugs | News Medical, Australia
Vaping rates declining among young people, study shows
New national data from the Generation Vape study has found that the rate of vaping has decreased among young people aged 14-17, falling from 18 per cent in early 2023 to 15 per cent in 2025 | University of Sydney, Australia
Blogs, comment and opinion
Collective Voice CYP Forum responds to ACMD drug prevention report
Collective Voice Children and Young People Forum responds to the recent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs report on prevention. The group shared their thoughts in response, including on what is needed to achieve the recommendations | Collective Voice, UK
Real Policy Comes from Real Lives: Why Addiction Strategy Must Start with People, Not Systems – Stuart Patterson
For too long, addiction policy in the UK has been shaped more by metrics than by people. It counts attendance, compliance, and prescriptions—while lives unravel quietly beyond the clipboard. Real recovery doesn’t happen on paper. It happens in places of belonging, in honest conversations, and in the slow rebuilding of identity. We must stop asking why people don’t engage with services—and start asking whether services truly engage with people | Enlighten, UK
Pumped up with poison: new research shows many anabolic steroids contain toxic metals
Eighteen-year-old Mark scrolls Instagram late at night, watching videos of fitness influencers showing off muscle gains and lifting the equivalent of a baby elephant off the gym floor. Spurred on by hashtags and usernames indicating these feats involve steroids, soon Mark is online, ordering his first “steroid cycle”. No script, no warnings, just vials in the mail and the promise of “gains” | Conversation, Australia