Home | Archive | Weekly | Reports
Daily news - 11th June 2025 |
 |
UK news
Community Not a Commodity: The LGBT+ Community’s Views on Alcohol Marketing
Alcohol Focus Scotland has published a new report exploring how alcohol marketing affects LGBT+ people in Scotland, and how the industry’s presence in LGBT+ spaces and events, particularly Pride, is being perceived by the community itself. Community, Not a Commodity is based on a series of workshops held in late 2024 with LGBT+ individuals, offering a safe space for participants to share their experiences and perspectives on alcohol marketing. The report captures participants’ reflections on how alcohol is promoted in LGBT+ venues, events, and media - and how this intersects with their own experiences of identity, inclusion, and community | Alcohol Focus Scotland, UK
UK Parliament Justice Committee -
Tuesday 10 June 2025 -
Subject: Rehabilitation and resettlement: ending the cycle of reoffending - video recording of the meeting
Witness(es): Kate Davies, Director of Health and Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Services Commissioning, NHS England; Dr Russell Green, Medical Director for Health in Justice, Practice Plus Group and Witness(es): Dr Will Haydock, Executive Director of Policy & External Affairs, Collective Voice; Mike Trace, CEO, The Forward Trust | UK Parliament, UK
NHS stop smoking services quarterly
This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information from October to December 2024 (Quarter 3) on NHS Stop Smoking Services in Scotland and health boards’ progress towards their annual Local Delivery Plan (LDP) Standard | PHS, UK
Ketamine: Misuse
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to receive advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the classification of ketamine | They work for you, UK
Celebrating recovery through a lens
On 3 June, Chester Picturehouse hosted the launch of Beauty in the Everyday, a powerful photography exhibition created by people in recovery at local drug and alcohol support service, Via – New Beginnings, Cheshire West & Chester | DDN, UK
'I helped injured cellmate after spice drug overdose'
Prisoners are injuring themselves and collapsing in their cells after taking spice, a former inmate has said, as he shared harrowing examples of drug abuse in jails | BBC, UK
Survey shows 85% of people would support a ban on smoking at school gates in Northern Ireland
Politicians here are being urged to help Northern Ireland fall into line with the rest of the UK when it comes reducing smoking | Rayo, UK
Appointment details: Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
Application deadline: 11pm on 14 July 2025. The Chair of the ACMD is required to deliver a key leadership role by utilising and coordinating the expertise of committee members to deliver prompt expert advice. The successful candidate will be required to do this by developing constructive relationships with committee members and senior stakeholders, including Ministers, Parliament, Devolved Administrations, Government officials and practitioners. The Chair will represent the Council acting as the primary interface for Government Ministers and other stakeholders, including the public and media. The expected time commitment is up to 30 days per year, depending on the ACMD’s work programme. The role is unremunerated, but travel expenses incurred on committee business in the UK will be reimbursed | ACMD, UK
Medicinal cannabis being used illegally [Guernsey]
Concerns have been raised by health professionals about the recreational use of medicinal cannabis in Guernsey | BBC, UK
PC who smelled of alcohol blamed cough medicine
A police officer who turned up to work smelling of alcohol blamed the cough mixture he said he had been "swigging" the night before | BBC, UK
Dealer worked to flood area with cocaine - police
A drug dealer who has been jailed for more than 22 years after going on the run was part of "a large-scale operation to flood Worcestershire with cocaine", police have said | BBC, UK
Couple charged over alleged Thailand cannabis plot
A British couple have been charged with allegedly trying to smuggle more than 50kgs of cannabis from Thailand into the UK | BBC, UK
International news
Bulgaria’s blanket ban on vapes awaits Brussels approval
The proposed legislation – which would outlaw the sale, use, and advertising of all vapes – passed its first reading in Parliament back in February with overwhelming support: 197 MPs voted in favour. The Bill also targets energy drinks marketed to minors | Clearing the air, UK
Tobacco excise has passed a ‘tipping point’ and is fuelling black market, economists warn
Taxes now account for $28 of the average $40 price for a packet, following a triple-fold excise hike in 10 years from 46c to $1.40 per cigarette | Guardian, UK
WHO launches new Collaborating Centre on Alcohol Policy and Public Health Research
The World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Health Promotion is pleased to announce the designation of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health (ISMH) at the University of Stirling, Scotland, as a new WHO Collaborating Centre for Alcohol Policy and Public Health Research | WHO, Switzerland
Fewer than 500 neurons are associated with the suppression of binge drinking, new research finds
Among the billions of neurons in the brain, fewer than 500 are responsible for suppressing binge drinking, according to new research by Gilles E. Martin, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology | Medical Xpress, USA
Mount Sinai receives NIH grant to study overdoses linked to synthetic opioids
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been awarded a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, to study drug overdose cases linked to novel synthetic opioids. This work will help Emergency Department physicians better identify what substances people have taken, the severity of the overdose, and the best treatments to use in cases involving previously unknown or emergent drugs | News Medical, USA
To Bring Tobacco Harm Reduction to Prisons, We Need Outside Allies
Harm reduction efforts outside prison often involve lawyers and other experts identifying policy that is weak from more than one angle—policies which, if attacked properly, can yield wins for harm reduction | Filter Magazine, USA
Congressional Committee Approves Bill To Ban All Hemp Products With THC
A GOP-led House committee has approved a spending bill containing provisions that hemp stakeholders say would devastate the industry, prohibiting most consumable cannabinoid products that were federally legalized during the first Trump administration | Marijuana Moment, USA
Blogs, comment and opinion
DSM Foundation responds to disposable vape ban with its unique insights on young people and drugs
Although it is likely to take a few months for the full impact of the legislation to become clear, the DSM Foundation knows from its survey of over 4,000 15-18 year olds (since September 2024) that vapes score the highest in terms of acceptability for young people, with over half stating that they are “OK to use regularly”, and only an eighth of respondents considering them “not OK” | Pressat, UK
If we wait until someone has died to learn, we’ve waited too long
Today I met a mother who lost her son to a drug-related death. I’m not a parent, and I won’t pretend to understand that kind of loss. But sitting with her and hearing about her son, alongside the frustration and unanswered questions she’s been left with was a stark reminder of how much families are expected to endure in silence | Anyone's Child blog, UK
Binge drinking brake found in mouse brains, offering future path to treating alcohol abuse – new research
Despite the profound human, social and economic costs of alcohol abuse, existing treatments have failed to provide meaningful relief. Excessive alcohol consumption remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. In the U.S. alone, 16.4 million people age 12 and older reported binge drinking on five or more days in the past month | Conversation, USA
Why more youth are landing in the ER with vomiting from cannabis use
As cannabis use among youth rises in Canada — and THC potency reaches record highs — emergency departments are seeing a surge in cases of a once-rare condition: cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) | Conversation, Canada